


In the Hearts of Men

by dinokittyalchemist



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Renaissance, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Based on merlin, Bottom Stiles Stilinski, Dom Derek, Knight Derek, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Prince Derek, Princes & Princesses, Renaissance AU, Renaissance Era, Royal Argents, Royal Hales, Sorcerers, Sub Stiles, Swords & Sorcery, Top Derek, magic is illegal, reneissance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-23
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-22 20:18:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 56,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6092872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinokittyalchemist/pseuds/dinokittyalchemist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is no evil in magic, but in the hearts of men. This has been said many times, but never understood. Any caught using magic will be sentenced to death. This law has forced many into hiding and many to hate the king, his family, and his knights. Stiles is one of those many, but when he finds a knight with a potentialy fatal injury he can't just leave him there to die, can he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Stiles' pov

Stiles looked out the window then back at the two bowls of stew that were getting cold. A storm was coming, he could feel it, and it was getting late, but his father was nowhere in sight. He sighed heavily knowing his father wouldn't be returning from town that night. Sometimes he hated living all the way out in No Man's Land. Of course it was the one place in all the land safe enough for someone like him to live.      

No Man's Land was the name given to the three miles wide strip of land between two different kingdoms; Wulfhli, ruled by a family of werewolves named the Hales, and Dræfend, ruled by humans who once hunted werewolves named the Argents. The two ruling families had a treaty, and No Man's land was a buffer that was part of the treaty since neither kingdom had claim over it. If either kingdom sent soldiers onto the land, they had to inform the other why they were there.

  It was the perfect place to hide for that exact reason. Three miles wide and it goes along the entire length of both kingdoms. It was a lot of land to search, and it wasn't worth the time it would take to search for people they didn't even know existed.

  Here Stiles was completely invisible and that was good. It kept him safe. He was lucky his grandfather built this cabin here. Maybe he knew the hell that was coming for people like them. Maybe he saw things like Stiles saw in his dreams or maybe his grandmother did, and he built the cabin because, like Stiles, they couldn't always tell when these things took place. He had to get the ability to see from somewhere right? It definitely wasn't from his mother though.

  Stiles sighed again as he ran a hand through his hair before walking back towards the table. He poured one bowl of stew back into the pot he made it in then sat down to eat his own. He stirred it around in his bowl as he stared at it.

  He really missed his mother. He remembered the day they came for her. The knights that were sent to find and capture any known users of witch craft in Wulfhli. His mother only used her magic to heal people in their village, but she was still well known. His father was in charge of the village guards and tried to convince his mother to leave, but she refused. She couldn't leave when these people needed her, and when the knights came for her Stiles hid.

   He held his breath as he watched them drag her out of their home, dug his fingers into the dirt as they forced her into a cage like some kind of animal, and bit his lip till blood dripped from the corners as they locked her in chains. He wanted to run to her, to scream for them to stop, but he couldn't. He promised he'd stay hidden. She stared straight at him as they started to move away. She was crying, but she was trying so hard not to.

   Tears fell down his cheeks when she spoke, but she didn't speak out loud. He heard her in his head. Her voice cracking even in her thoughts as she sent him one last goodbye. He watched her disappear from sight. He was so scared when his father came up behind him. He was scared a knight had found him too. Then his father moved them here, to No Man's Land.

  His father was still the top village guard so he had to travel to the village and back, but sometimes he had to stay at the village over night. This was one of those times. He wouldn't be coming home tonight and Stiles knew it, but part of him still hoped. When they first came here and his father didn't return at night he was scared they had gotten him too. His father may not have been a sorcerer but he was hiding one.

  Stiles stared at the empty seat across from him for a moment before getting up. He had lost his appetite. He blew out all but one candle because, whenever his dad was gone for a night he left the one in the front window on in case he came back. He wasn't afraid of any of the bandits coming near there. They knew better.

He walked into his room and climbed into bed. The wind howled outside his window as the storm grew closer. He could already hear the thunder in the distance. He hated thunder storms. It always put him on edge, like he could feel the electricity from each lightning bolt course through him. He sat there staring at his ceiling before rolling over and closing his eyes in an attempt to welcome sleep, but as soon as he shut them images began flickering behind his eyelids.

  He was hurt. It was storming outside. Thunder. Why was the thunder so loud? Pain. Pain was everywhere. He was bleeding from a wound on his side, but it wasn't normal. Something was in the wound that made it hurt so badly. Someone was after him. He didn't belong here. Why was he here? A charm. A warding charm he hung on the tree next to him. He wasn't far from his cabin so, why did he feel so out of place?

  Then it all went dark. Stiles shot up in his bed with a audible intake of air as he gripped his side, where the wound was, tightly. He sat there wide eyed and breathless as he tried to figure out if that was his future or someone else's. He looked down at his supposedly wounded side but he saw no blood. He was ok, but he got the feeling they weren't his eyes he was looking through.

He struggled to control his breathing for a moment, before he licked his lips and gulped. He jumped when the lightning crashed and realized the rain was pounding outside his window. It was getting louder, which meant the storm was getting closer. /Why was the thunder so loud?/

   He quickly got out of bed as he struggled to remember any details that could tell him who's eyes he was seeing through, but he couldn't think of anything. Nothing that told him that he wasn't seeing through his father's eyes, and that scared him.

  He frantically searched for his coat and, after finding it hanging on the back of a chair just outside his room, hurried to put it on, before rushing out the front door. The wind was relentless. It howled loudly in his ears, pushed hard against his skin, and sent chills up his spine. The rain was just as bad, coming down in big droplets that easily soaked through his clothes. He couldn't see or hear a damn thing in this weather.

  He had to concentrate. The first thing he needed was light. He needed to see in order to find someone, right? He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, in and out, as he held up his arm to focus his energy.

  "Lys føre meg," Stiles whispered before a ball of light formed in his hand and lit the way in front of him. He kept his eyes closed and breaths even. He had to remember the scenery. In what direction was he supposed to go?

  Stiles opened his eyes as he remembered the warding charm. He made them special so his dad could always find his way home. That made his suspicions even stronger, but he had to focus. He had to find who he was looking for, even if it wasn't his father. Someone needed help.

  He ran towards the path the charms would be found on. As long as he followed that path he should find whoever he was searching for. He stopped at every charm he could remember and looked around them thoroughly, but he was still frantic. He was losing focus, and the light was already fading.

  Everything was going by in slow motion, as if he wasn't moving fast enough. A loud crash of lightning and suddenly everything was happening too fast. His focus shattered, the light went out, he tripped, and let out a yell as he fell into mud. Then everything stopped.

  Someone groaned but it wasn't him. What did he trip on? He slowly looked behind him and saw a big lumpy figure laying on the ground by his feet. He quickly leaped up onto his knees and turned around as he realized that this must be the person's who's eyes he saw through.

  They were laying on their stomach, and he couldn't see their face, but, judging by their size, they were not his dad. Stiles breathed a sigh of relief at this realization and turned the male (definitely male) over.  He studied the man's face for a moment, before he focused on what he was wearing.

Judging by the crest on his chest he was from Wulfhli and definitely wasn't some kind of criminal or peasant. He was probably a knight, a highly regarded one at that, but knights generally stayed within the walls that circled around the inner kingdom, meaning the king's castle and the village that neighbored it. Maybe this knight was on a quest of sorts, but knights usually traveled in groups. Maybe they were ambushed?

  Stiles looked around to see if there were any other knights, but, since the storm made visibility low, he couldn't even see passed the trees two rows away. He didn't really have time to search for people that might not have even been there. The storm was only getting worse and this man needed help.

  Stiles got to his feet, sitting the man up as he did so, and got behind him. He attempted to pull the other up by his under arms but the water prevented him from getting a good grip. He leaned over, took the man's arm and wrapped it around his neck, and tried lifting him up. He only made it a few steps before falling, face first, into the mud.

  Stiles groaned in frustration as he got up. He glared at the unconscious man before letting out an irritated sigh and standing up. He looked around one more time then back down at the man. He held his arm out to the knight and focused his energy. "Fly hvor jeg veilede," he commanded.

  The man slowly rose off the ground as Stiles moved his arm upward. The Thunder crashed louder and nearly broke his focus again, but he ignored the growing fear it gave him. He slowly made his way back to his cabin as the man floated in front of him.

  Once he made it inside he brought him to his room and laid him down on the bed before lighting a lantern next to his bed. He hurried out of the room and into the kitchen in search of supplies. He poured water into two bowls from the jug filled with the supply he had boiled earlier that day and placed them on a tray before grabbing two clean cloths and a bandage.

  He brought the tray back to his room and placed it down on his bed side table. He stripped out of his muddy jacket and dropped it on the floor before pulling up a chair, sitting, and lifting the other's chain mail, and other clothing, up enough to clearly see the wound.

  He first lifted his hand up to one bowl and whispered, "Kaldt til varmt," before the bowl started steaming. He dipped one piece of cloth into the water and wrung it out. Carefully he folded it, before laying it on the other male's forehead. Warm towels always relaxed him and he hoped it did the same for the knight.

  He grabbed the second cloth and dipped it into the other bowl before he began cleaning the knight's wound. Knights in Wulfhli are wolves. Wolves heal fast, but something was wrong. Stiles cleared off the wound enough to get a clearer idea of what was the real extent of the injury, then looked up at the other's face.

  "Why aren't you healing?" he questioned as he stared at the other in confusion. He got up quickly, walked to his bookshelf, and quickly scanned over each book before finding the one he needed. He pulled it out and searched through the pages as he returned to his seat.

  He wiped the wound a bit more and applied pressure to it with one hand. He used his free hand to flip the book's pages as it sat on top of his lap. He stopped and tapped twice on the page he was looking for. Something in the wound made it hurt more when he was seeing through the knight's eyes, this must have been it.

  Wolfsbane was a flower used by high ranking Dræfend knights. They made it into a type of oil and rubbed it on their swords, and Stiles never really put it together until now. Wolfsbane was like a type of poison to wolves, which meant, this man was stabbed with a sword, or knife, doused in Wolfsbane oil, used by one of the knights from Dræfend.

He knew exactly how to deal with Wolfsbane, thanks to Scott ofcourse. A girl he met from Dræfend had left her knife that happened to be coated in Wolfsbane oil behind, and somehow Scott cut his hand on it. Luckily for Scott, Stiles had a recipe for a potion that reversed the effects. Unluckily for Scott, it took hours to find that recipe and all night to find the ingredients for it. Hopefully, he still had the ingredients.

  He layed the book down carefully, so he didn't lose his page and began taking off what the man was wearing, or at least the upper chain mail and crested apron. He did not want to see a stranger's privates right now. He picked the book up again and grabbed the lantern, before heading back to the kitchen.

  He set the book and lantern down, grabbed another bowl, and filled it half way with water. He set that down by the book as well. He hurriedly went through the cabinets in search for the ingredients. He carefully grabbed the vials and herbs he needed and piled them in his hands.

  He turned and dumped them onto the counter, before closing the cabinets. He read the instructions carefully and added each ingredient as cautiously as possible. Stiles hated making potions. One mistake and he could be screwed. He really hoped he didn't make any now.

  When he was finished the water turned into a bright yellow liquid. He grabbed a gauze pad and dipped it in the liquid, before rushing back to his room. He pressed the pad to the wound then grabbed the bandages. It wasn't easy, but he managed to wrap up the wound.

  He grinned triumphantly at his handy work. "There, that should do the trick!" he said confidently as he stretched and leaned back in his chair, before he sneezed. "Crap," he grumbled before getting up and going to his drawers. He needed dry clothes before he caught a cold. He grabbed some clean clothes, at least as clean as a peasant boy can get them, and went into the next room.

  He knew the other was unconscious, but it felt weird to change in front of him. He quickly changed, and put the clothes in a basket. He went to the kitchen, grabbed a towel, dipped it in the jar of water, and began wiping his face with it. He cleaned up the mess he had made and sneezed again, before letting out an irritated groan.  
   
Stiles walked back into the room, sat down in the chair, and pointed an accusitory finger at the unconscious male. "Better be damn greatful when you wake up," he said with a small yawn, before he leaned forward, folded his arms on the bed, and laid his head down on them. He closed his eyes and sighed before exauhtion finally took over.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek had no idea where he was, who brought him there, or why they brought him there. The one thing he was vividly aware of is the deep and bleeding hole in his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Derek's POV

Pain. Derek felt pain. He felt pain in his side, a stinging pain. Where was he? Wasn't it storming? Wait, it's still storming, but he's not outside. Where was he? He definitely wasn't in his chambers. This bed was horribly uncomfortable. How could anyone sleep on this thing?

  Where was his chain mail? Wait, more importantly, someone else was here. He can hear the heart beat of another person next to him. It was slow and steady, meaning this person was probably asleep. Who were they? His attacker maybe, but would they really be dumb enough to fall asleep in front of him? 

  Derek slowly opened his eyes and saw a figure leaned over with his head laying on his arms. He was tiny, no way he was the attacker, but that didn't mean he wasn't an accomplice. He carefully sat up, but hissed in pain as his wound throbbed. That caused the sleeping boy to stirr. As soon as his eyes opened he shot up and pushed against Derek's chest to get him to lay back down. 

   "Hey, hey, hey, you need to res-" the boy tried but didn't finish, because Derek had grabbed one of the boy's arms, pulled him closer, and wrapped his hand around his throat. He froze.

  "Who are you?" Derek asked in a near growl. 

  "L-let go," the boy struggled to say. Derek could feel him swallow heavily under his hand and tightened his grip.

  "Who. Are. You!" he growled out louder.

  "S-Stiles St-Stilinski," the boy choked out as he dug his nails into the hand around his throat with his free hand and struggled to get his other hand free.

  "Stiles Stilinski? Your name is Stiles Stilinski?" Derek ask as he released the other's throat. He knew the name Stilinski from somewhere, he was sure of it.

  Stiles coughed violently as he tried to regain his breath. "Stiles is a-a nickname," he explained, his voice raspy and strained, "I don't use my real name."

  "Got something to hide?" 

  "Yea, my parents horrid name picking skills," Stiles snapped and glared at him, "You know generally people thank the ones that save their lives, not choke them to death!"

  "I have no clue where I am, who you are, or how I got here. Do you actually blame me for believing you could be a threat, especially since I've just been stabbed?"

  "Have you even looked at me? Do you actually think I'm threatening?"

  "Looks can be deceiving."

  "Not in all cases. You're just as big of an ass as I thought you were," Stiles stated as he rubbed his neck gingerly and glared at Derek, "should've just left you out there, you don't even say thank you. Don't knights have some kind of code of cunduct or something? What is it the code of dickhood?"

  "Watch your tongue! Do you know who I am!?" 

  "Oh, do you wear a colloar, because you certainly act like you should."

  "Excuse me!"

  "You're excused, although I'd rather an apology."

  "Never have I met someone as ill mannered as you," Derek stated as he glared at the boy.

  "Obviously you don't have mirrors where you live. Do you even hear yourself talk, or is it just white noise to you?"

  "I could have you imprisoned for how you speak to me!"

  "Ha! Good luck with that, you even try and you'll have the kingdom of Dræfend on your fluffy wolf tail!"

  "They have no say on who I apprehend in Wulfhli."

  "Yea, that's true, but we're not in Wulfhli anymore, Wolfy."

  "Doesn't matter if we're in Dræfe-" the arrogant prick didn't even let him finish before he interrupted with a laugh.

  "Nope try again! We aren't there either."

  "Then do tell, peasant, where are we?"

  "Oh, the Big-Bad -Wolf used a big word! Good for you! Try asking that again, with a please, and maybe I'll tell you," Stiles said with a smirk. Derek wanted to claw that look right off his face.

  "Tell me where I am or I'll kill you myself."

  "Hmm see I would, /but/ I don't think I heard a please in there. Oh, unless it was the death threat, but that's not really a polite way to say please now is it? Of course I wouldn't know, I guess, because I'm /so/ rude, right?"

  "You are testing my patience," Derek growled out.

  "Testing patience is my specialty, besides, it's your fault your patience is being tested. Are you incapable of saying please? It really is a simple word to say. You need to learn to swallow your pride."

  "And what about your pride? When will you swallow yours?"

  "I swallow my pride every second I spend in this empty cabin, in the middle of no where, alone because your oh so /perfect/ king lives in fear of an innocent people."

  That, that caught him off guard. He was expecting more of his sarcasm and wit, not malice. He can see the hatred in his eyes as they narrowed at him. He stared at the boy for a moment before replying with, "You can be taken in for treason with comments like that."

  "I speak against a fool, who poses as a king I do not hale, that is not treason."

  "What has he done to you that makes you think this way?"

  "He stole something very important to me, because of the power it possessed, even when it was only used for the good of the people."

  "King Hale is not a theif! He would never do such a thing!"

  "Ha! You just keep believing that! Don't come crying when your world comes crashing down!" he laughed out bitterly as he stood up and began walking out of the room, "sleep, sir knight, or the medicine won't work!"

   Right now Derek thinks he would have preferred being kidnapped by his attacker. How dare this Stiles boy insult his father in such a manner. He could have him killed for this, but that look in his eyes and steady heart beat told him that this kid told the truth about his father's thievery.

  He supposed it could mean the boy was raised up by someone who hated the king, a criminal, but he said he was alone here. Maybe, he didn't mean he was alone all the time, or that he felt alone. That could be the reason he helped him, despite his hatred for the king and his knights. He should probably keep the fact that he is the king's son a secret. He would definitely get kicked out if the boy found that out.

  Something still bothered him though. Why was he avoiding the kingdoms? The only thing he could think of was that mouth of his must have gotten him in a load of trouble, but he wouldn't have to leave the kingdom. He might get a little prison time, if it was only that sharp tongue that got him into trouble. Would that be enough to force someone out of the kingdom? What else could a boy like him do? Maybe it wasn't him. Maybe it was someone close to him.

  There wasn't any evidence of anyone else living here. Now he recalled that he was never told where he was. He couldn't really investigate his surroundings, because any movement caused the wound in his side to throb painfully. The best he could do was look around the room, which, he noticed, was rather disorganized. There were books and papers everywhere. There was a large book case across from the bed, a desk in front of a closed window to the right of the bed, and a chair right next to the bed on the left side, where his wound was. 

  On the chair there was a book opened to a page that had a picture of Wolfsbane on it. He leaned closer to it, to try and read it, but pain shot up his side. He looked down to see blood seeping slowly through the bandages. Orange stained the gauze patch, but he was pretty sure blood was red. Some sort of yellow liquid soaked the gauze patch over his wound. Was that the medicine he was talking about?

  Maybe that's why the book was opened to the page, most likely, about Wolfsbane. He's had medicine that countered Wolfsbane before, but this was different than those. He had to drink the other medicines, and those only prevented infections from spreading. This medicine seemed to do a much better job than that, and there's no horrid taste that goes with it. He really wanted to know what this medicine was so he could bring it to his physician. He stared at the open book for a moment, before looking up at the book case.

  There were only six books that were placed on there with organization in mind. They rested on one neat shelf. All the other books were sloppily stacked on the rest of the shelves, floor, and desk. Some had papers sticking out of them. Some weren't even closed, like the one on the desk, well, it was sort of a book. There was a piece of charcoal sitting on top of the pages. He probably used it to take notes or vent. A kid as bitter as him needs a place to vent.

  Derek sighed heavily before laying back down and getting comfortable, or as comfortable as he could get in such a horribly uncomfortable bed. Honestly, How could that boy get any sleep on a bed like this? Wait, if Derek is really in the young peasant's bed than where was he sleeping? He really hoped the kid wasn't sleeping on the floor or anything like that, even if he was an annoying, little brat.

  Speaking of the brat, where was he? He hasn't made a single sound since he left the room. The walls here definitely weren't thick enough to interfere with his keen hearing. He should be able to hear everything, right down to the thumping of his heart, but all he heared was silence. Did the boy leave the cabin? No, Derek would have heard the door open and shut right?

  He might not be able to hear anything but he could definitely smell something cooking. It smelled wonderful, but, if he was being honest, anything would smell good with how hungry he was. He could feel the hollowness in his stomach rumble with the need to be filled. At the moment, he didn't care if the kid was boiling rats to eat(he really hope that was not the case). He stared at the door way, hoping that the boy was cooking for him.

  Soon the boy came through the doorway with a tray in his hands. On the tray was a smoking bowl, a spoon and fork,and a small cup. "Thought you might be hungry, well, actually I was hungry and had enough for a second person," the boy said as he walked over to the bed. 

  Derek sat up slowly as the kid carefully lowered the tray onto his lap. "What is it?" he asked as he stared down at the contents of the bowl. It was some kind of soup and looked like it had large chunks of meat in it, along with carrots, pees, and celery. 

  "Beef stew. I made it. It may not be that good, but I hope, for your sake really, it's not too bad. I mean, it's edible. I ate it. Well, some of it," the boy rambled as he moved the book to the floor and sat down.

  "Well, if it's any consolation, it smells good," Derek tried. He didn't know how long he'd be stuck here, so it would be smart for him to be nice.

  "Thanks, but smells can be deceiving, you know?" He said with a small shrug, "Like Oxeye flowers have leaves that smell like mint, but they're bitter and poisonous. I'm not sure if it would be poisonous to you, though."

  "Do you talk this much all the time? I was under the impression you hated me."

  "I do. Well, no, I don't hate you, just your job, I guess? I don't know if that's a good way to phrase it. I just, don't have good experiences with knights, you know?"

  "You were quite hostile earlier."

  "Well, excuse me if I don't like getting my throat crushed. It's not really something people react positively to," he replied with his arms crossed.

  "I was a bit out of line."

  "A bit? I have bruises on my neck!"

  "Yes I know and I'm very sorry for that, but you have to understand, I was hurt and didn't know where I was. I still don't."

  The boy sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Yea, I get that. I mean, it's an appropriate reaction, it just really hurt. Eat before it gets cold Mr. Wolf."

  "Of course, but first, will you tell me where I am?" he asked before adding, "please?"

  "No Man's Land."

  "Why would you live in such a place? It's dangerous here."

  "I'm aware, but it's the only place I'm safe in. Now eat."

  "Why is this place any safer?"

  "Eat."

  Derek stared at him for a moment, before be picked up his spoon and dipped it in the soup. He got as much as he could on the spoon and brought it up to his mouth. Before he ate some he looked over at the boy, who was staring at him expectently. "What?"

  "I just want to know if it tastes good."

  "Didn't you say you had some?"

  "Yea, but I'm taste blind to my cooking. It's all I ever eat."

  Derek raised an eyebrow at him before tasting it. He really expected it to be terrible with how unsure this kid was, but it tasted amazing. Of course, he's so hungry anything would taste good, but this honestly tasted great. He swallowed his food and looked at the boy, who was now biting his lip nervously. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you poisoned this."

  "What? Why?"

  "You're a bit on edge. What are you nervous about?"

  "Well if you say it sucks that means I've been feeding my dad disgusting slop and he's been lying about whether it's good or not."

  "You live with your dad?"

  "When he makes it home, yes."

  "It's good, I wouldn't worry about it."

  "I don't want a lie."

  "Good thing you're not getting one. It tastes good."

  "Thanks," he trailed off and stood up, "well, I have to pick up a few supplies in town. Do you want anything specific?"

  "Can I see that book that was on the chair?"

  "You wouldn't understand it. It's in another language."

  "You understand it?"

  "Yea, it belonged to my mother. She taught me how to read it," Stiles said quietly and bit his lip again as he looked down. Derek figured something bad must have happened since he didn't mention cooking for her.

  "I'm sorry."

  "Yea, you should be," Stiles mumbled before exiting the room. 

  Derek thought the hostility was gone, but perhaps some still lingered. It seemed his mother was a touchy subject, maybe she left them. Maybe, judging by the bitterness towards the king and knights, she was killed by a knight. Many knights weren't as chivalrous as they made people think. 

  Some may have been kind to noble women, but they were cruel and violent with peasant women. They were especially cruel to human women, since they were much weaker. Personally, Derek hated those kinds of knights. They had no morals. The people needed to have knights they could trust, not ones they live in fear of.

  Derek stared down at his food for a little longer before he continued eating it. He was only supposed to be gone a day. His father is probably impatiently waiting for him in the throne room. He can imagine his annoyed expression, and his constant tapping on the armrest of his chair. If Derek is gone too long he'll probably send knights out to find him, and that would not be a good thing.

  The knights aren't gentle when they're coaxing information out of people. He didn't want his people hating all of the knights or, even worse, hating the king. If he was being honest, Derek wasn't such a big fan of his father either. He didn't agree with a lot of the laws he made. He didn't question them, because his father wasn't exactly an open minded man.

  Derek listened for the boy again, but again couldn't hear anything. It was strange. He should probably ask the boy, Stiles, when he came back. Perhaps the walls were thicker than they appeared. He could've already left for town, but, due to Derek's inability to hear anything outside of the room he was in, he couldn't tell.

  He finished off the soup and did his best to place the tray on the bedside table with as little pain as possible. He carefully slid himself down in the bed and rolled onto his uninjured side to get comfortable. He had to admit, he was a bit on the tired side. The boy did say he needed rest, maybe it's best if Derek listened to his advice. He closed his eyes and waited for the blissful silence that was sleep to over take him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Stiles is a bit bipolar in this chapter but there's a reason for that. He's agressive and sarcastic because he was just choked, and then he's nicer because he realizes that Derek was probably in shock and scared and understands his reaction, but he's still a tad bitter about it.  
> TELL ME IF THERE ARE ANY ERRORS!!! Also tell me what you think!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles goes town and runs into Scott.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stiles POV

   Stiles sighed heavily as he shifted through the herbs on the stand in front of him. He had arrived in the village a little while ago and was starting to feel nervous. He should have seen his father by now. The village wasn't all that big and he usually guarded the entrance facing No Man's Land, but he was no where to be found. In fact, he didn't really see any of the guards in the village. He had no idea what could've caused all the guards to be absent. 

  The village wasn't completely unprotected, ofcourse. Some villagers had taken the places of the missing guards. It was the first time Stiles was actually stopped before entering the village. His dad usually let him right in, but that didn't happen because, the villager didn't recognize Stiles right away. It was probably because he doesn't come to the village all that often, and, when he does, he's only there for a short amount of time.

   Most people here remember him as the small kid he was, before he was forced to move away. He didn't really talk to any of the people who lived there anymore, there were still a few people he visited. People like Scott. They knew each other even before magic was ever considered bad. He walked all the way to the cabin to 'check' on Stiles, which really meant hang around and watch him practice new spells.

  Scott and Melissa, Scott's mom, were the only two people he still trusted. They were his family. Now that he thought about it, maybe he should pay the two of them a visit. He wouldn't be too long, just enough time to know what's new. He really did miss them, and it wasn't often he got to see Melissa.

  No, as much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't. He had to get back to the cabin. If the knight started walking around his home, Stiles would be screwed. He didn't really hide anything incriminating like he probably should be. It would have been smart ofcourse, but he didn't think the knight would even wake up that soon, let alone walk around. He was already proven wrong when the wolf did wake and nearly choked him to death.

  Stiles was deep in thought as he gathered herbs, vegetables, and some meats. He pulled out a small pouch of coins and placed it in the clerk's hand. "Thank you," he mumbled as he struggled with carrying the food.

  "Need some help?" a familiar voice asked. Stiles quickly turned his head to see Scott standing right next to him with a smile plastered across his face. He was already taking some of the food out of Stiles' hands.

  "Honestly, Scott, I don't see why you insist on sneaking up on me," Stiles replied with a small grin as he began walking.

  "It's fun to see you jump," he joked, "actually, this is really convenient for me."

  Stiles raised an eyebrow at Scott and adjusted his grip on what he was holding. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

  "Because I was going to stop by your fortress of solitude to pass on some news."

  "And?"

  "And what?"

  "What's the news, Scott?"

  "Oh! Right! Apparently all of the guards have been summoned to an audience with the king."

  Stiles felt panic rising in his gut, but tried his best to quell it. He knew it probably wasn't because the king knew about him. Why would he summon all of the guards. "Why would he do that? Is just our village?"

  "I'm not sure, but there's this rumor going around that the Prince is missing, along with some knights. They might have been sent out to search for him."

  "Knights..." Stiles repeated as he looked down. Could the man he found be one of the missing knights? It was quite possible. 

  "What's wrong?" Scott asked, snapping Stiles back to reality.

  "Huh? Oh, nothing.. I was just thinking," Stiles trailed off and chewed the corner of his lip.

  "You sure? You're doing that lip biting thing you always do when somethings really bugging you. Are you nervous about your dad?"

  "I do not bite my lip, Scott."

  "You're right, you naw on it until it bleeds. Mom says you should stop that by the way."

  "I'm fine, Scott."

  "Liar. You know you can't lie to me, Stiles. Tell me what is bothering you."

  Stiles sighed as they approached the back entrance facing No Man's Land. "You don't have to carry those all the way back to my home."

  "Can't get rid of me that easily, and don't try to change the subject."

  Stiles narrowed his eyes at Scott for a moment before mumbling, "sometimes you really annoy me."

  "I'm just trying to help! Can't you trust your brother?"

  "That is a gross misuse of the brother thing, I'm so disappointed in you right now for using such a thing against me for something as petty as this," Stiles said before he began heading towards his cottage.

  "Stop dodging the subject. I won't tell anyone!"

  "Promise?" Stiles questioned with a raised eyebrow.

  "Promise!"

  "Not even my dad? Not even your mom?"

  "OK, wait, does this make me an accessory to anything criminal?"

  "What? No! I would never break the law," Stiles said with a small grin.

  "You can't even say that with a straight face."

  "Do you want to know or not?" Stiles asked irritatedly as he stopped in front of the other.

  Scott stared at Stiles for a moment with a thoughtful look. "Yes?"

  "Wow, I can just feel the trust radiating off of you," Stiles said sarcastically and rolled his eyes.

  "You don't exactly have a clean record!"

  "Fair enough," Stiles mumbled, "last night I had one of those seeing dreams-"

  "Future, present, or past?"

  "Present I think. Well, it was present at the time."

  "No, I get it. Some one you know or stranger?"

  "Stranger. He was stabbed and I thought it was my dad because he was near the cottage. I went out-"

  "In that storm! Are you crazy?"

  "I couldn't risk losing my dad, Scott."

  "How could you even see in that mess?"

  "Same way I see in every mess. I used a spell to help me."

  "That's just reckless, Stiles. What if someone saw? What if a bounty hunter saw?"

  "I thought it was my dad, Scott!"

  "I'm just saying to be careful. You're super important to me. I can't lose you."

  "I swear, you're such a worry wart, just like my dad. It's like there's two of you sometimes."

  "It's because I care. I'm going to guess it wasn't your dad."

  "No, don't yell."

  "I wasn't. Why would I yell?"

  "Just tell me you won't."

  "I won't. What is it?"

  "They were one of the King's knights, Scott."

  Stiles could visibly see his friend trying his hardest to stop himself from yelling at him. He can already hear the lecture he was going to get. Scott took a deep breath.

  "Did he see anything? Are you sure it's a knight? You didn't take him home did you? Stiles, please tell me you weren't that stupid."

  "I don't think he saw, I'm certain he's a knight, and what was I supposed to do, Scott? Leave the guy to bleed to death in the middle of that storm?"

  "Yes! He heals quickly! Werewolves heal lightning fast!"

  "He's not going to heal from his injuries all that quickly, Scott."

  "How can you be so sure?"

  "Remember when Allison left her knife at your home and you cut your hand because, apparently you're an idiot, and instead of grabbing it by the handle you grabbed it by the blade?"

  "There was wolfsbane on whatever stabbed him?"

  "Yea. I'm thinking that it might have been someone from Dræfend."

  "I can ask Allison, see if she knows. Maybe I should bring my mom to see if she can help. We can move him to my house so there's no risk of him finding out."

  "No, I don't want you guys to get too involved. I'm really hoping I can get rid of this guy before my dad comes home. If he finds out I'll really be screwed. It would help if the guy wasn't so difficult, though."

  "Are you sure you're not the one being difficult, Stiles?"

  "I am not difficult."

  Scott raised an eyebrow at that and looked unconvinced. Stiles hated Scott sometimes. He rolled his eyes and looked away. If he doesn't make eye contact he won't have to admit that Scott might be right. He looks back at Scott, who is still giving him that face, and puffs out air, half sighing, half groaning. 

  "OK, yeah I'm difficult, but he's even more so! He acts like he's on top of the world! What an arrogant prick! He called me a peasant, Scott! A fucking peasant! I save his life and he chokes me, then calls me a peasant, and has the audacity to make commands! Who the hell does he think he is! He even said I was rude! I made him a fucking meal, Scott!" 

  "He probably thinks he's a knight, and I feel like that's not the whole story. See what I think happened is that you decided being a smart Alec was a good idea, and he didn't take too kindly to the disrespect. He's used to the highest amounts of respect and gratitude. Not bitter, sarcastic teenagers with angst issues."

  "First of all, I'm an adult Scott. Second, I am not angsty. Bitter and sarcastic, yes, but not angsty. Third, he choked me before I said anything remotely sarcastic, ok, so these bruises on my neck are not my fault in any way, shape, or form."

  "I was going to ask about those, but I thought maybe someone tried to do something really bad to you and I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk about it."

  "See, I love how the fact that they could be hickies doesn't even cross your mind, and the only bad thing that happened was that I decided to show mercy."

  "I know knights aren't really your cup of tea, but try not to be too much of an ass. He'll jump at the chance to have you hanged, or worse."

  "I know. He's not even old enough to have been a knight when they took her," Stiles trailed off and looked down as they neared his cottage.

  "Hey man, don't get all depressed. She never liked seeing you sad, Stiles."

  "Well she can't really see me, now can she," he mumbled bitterly.

  "Sure she can, come on, Stiles, remember the great times, like when she taught you how to make shapes in the embers. You made dragons all night and she was so proud of you. She said you were such a quick learner. Said you were going to grow up to be such an amazing human being. She'd be so proud of you for putting aside your personal feelings to help someone."

  "Scott, please, just stop talking about her," Stiles mumbled. He could feel the stinging in the corner of his eye and the tears begin to build. He didn't agree with Scott, or everyone else telling him his mother would be proud. He has done nothing but hide all his life and he's so sick of it. His mother always said a life without freedom is not a life at all. Right now, Stiles couldn't agree more. He didn't feel like he was living.

  "I'm sorry, I thought it would make you feel better."

  "I know, you always have the best of intentions."

  A silence fell between them as they reached the cabin, and Stiles hated it. He hated silence like this. It made him so uneasy, like a scream so high that he couldn't hear it. A white noise in the air whose pressure made it hard to breathe. Scott took the food in Stiles' hand before he opened the door.

  "Do you still keep that thing up that blocks any sound from entering or leaving your room? I don't hear another heart beat," Scott said as he walked in and set the food down on the table.

  "Y-yea, I thought it would be a good idea. He won't hear me doing any spells."

  "I think you should take it down. He'll catch on quicker. Your walls aren't thick. Just cut back on the toe of a dead man mumbo jumbo for a little bit."

  "That's like telling you to cut back on the tongue dancing and bed wrestling you do with Allison."

  "Way to make sex sound disgusting."

  "It is disgusting when you're not involved."

  "Are you saying you want to get involved with Allison and I's sex life? Because I love you man but no-"

  "Gross! Dude, why do you insist on rewording everything I say into pure evil!"

  "Pure evil? I hardly call a three some pure evil-"

  "Just stop talking!"

  "I'm sure one day you'll find someone that will make you enjoy se-"

  "OK, that's it! Out, get out, Scott! I can't even look at you right now, you're so gross!" Stiles yelled as he pushed Scott out the door.

  "Ok, ok, I'm leaving!" Scott laughed out before bringing back a more serious tone, "seriously take off the sound proofing, and cut back a little. I don't want to see you caged up like some wild animal."

  "I will, thank you for all your help and putting the taste of vomit in my mouth, Scott."

  "My pleasure. If you need anything, Stiles, I mean anything, even hiding the dead body of that knight, please come to me. I'm always here for you. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly."

  "Always. Who else am I going to go to, Scott?"

"I don't know, you could have some secret life no one knows about with a secret best friend. Are you cheating on me with some Dræfend boy?"

  "Scott, you are so much better than any Dræfend-Scott-want-to-be. I would never cheat on you. Unless it was with Lydia. Sorry, if she ever gave me the time of day it would be bye-bye Scotty!"

  "Understandable. Be careful."

  "I will. Bye, tell your mom I say hi and I'm not dead yet."

  "Wouldn't have to tell her if you ever bothered to visit!"

  "Bye, Scott," Stiles said as he shut the door. A few seconds later Scott knocked on the window. Stiles opened it for him and Scott poked his head in.

  "Try to play nice with the knight."

  "Sorry, I don't play well with others and you know it," Stiles said with a small smirk, "now get back to your mom. You worry her enough as it is."

  Scott nodded and pulled his head out before waving at Stiles. Stiles watched as he disappeared into the tree line and sighed heavily. He closed the window and locked it before turning to his newly purchased food he had to put away. He began sorting through everything so he could put everything away in its proper place as he thought about what Scott had said.

  He was right. If Stiles kept the sound proof spell up the wolf would figure out that something was off. He wasn't sure if the knight would automatically assume it was magic, but he couldn't take the chance. He put the food away and sighed heavily as he went into his room to check on the man. When he saw he was asleep he stepped out and raised his hand up to the entry way.

  "Se hva som er døve og høre igjen," he whispered as he closed his eyes. He opened one eye to see if anything happened. He honestly doesn't know what he was expecting to see. Nothing visual happened when he used the spell to make the room sound proof, of course he wasn't going to see anything. He wasn't too sure it worked, but he didn't really want to check.

  He had done the reverse with no problems before, so how hard can this one be? He walked back into his room and put away the potion book he had left on the chair. He made sure it was placed there, along with the six other crucial magic books he owned, so he would always have them when they were needed. He quietly made his way to the bedside table and cautiously took the tray back into the kitchen. He put the cup and bowl by the one's he had used earlier, so he could wash them later, and the tray was placed back into one of the cabinets.

  It wasn't all that late into the day, but Stiles still felt tired. Walking all the way into the village then walking all the way back with your hands full wasn't an easy task. It was a bit tiring to do. He really didn't understand how his father did it. He wouldn't be able to make that trip everyday, come home, and deal with a kid like himself all the time. Stiles knew he was a handful, and he understood why his father didn't come home sometimes.

  It wasn't because he didn't want to see Stiles. It was probably because he didn't want Stiles to see him so exhausted because, he knew Stiles had a bad habit of blaming himself for things that aren't his fault. Stiles may understand, but he still misses his dad on the nights he isn't around. He used to dread those night. When they first moved here, after his mother, died his dad used to drink. He wouldn't come home most of the time when he did, which meant he was never really home, but he stopped and that made Stiles so happy. 

  He thought of how amazing it was to get his father back as he walked over to a cushioned bench. It used to be just wood until Stiles' dad had put the cushion in. He put it down because, Stiles had another bad habit of falling asleep on it when he waited for his father to come home. He lied down with a small smile as he thought about the day he put it in and lectured Stiles about how he should be helping. His smile widened as he closed his eyes and remembered using magic to help before his father gave him a look and told him he knew that wasn't what he meant.

  He could feel sleep taking over him. His body began to relax after he rolled onto his side. He couldn't keep his eyes open. He felt so calm. He wanted to feel this way forever. For the the first time in a long time Stiles wasn't afraid of falling asleep as he felt the last bits of consciousness leave him.

  Burning. He was burning. He looked down and he was burning. Fire scraped across his skin, leaving nothing but the most agonizing pain Stiles has ever felt. He was burning alive. The tears came in floods as the fire turned his skin black. Someone was screaming with so much agony that it scared Stiles more than the fire and even more than death. He didn't even realize those were his screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little slow since not a lot happens. I'm going to post the next chapter as soon as it's finished instead of waiting till Tuesday because the next chapter has a lot going on.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start clicking in Derek's mind, and he tries being a tad nicer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Derek's POV

  Derek shot up in his bed to the sound of screaming that would put a banshee to shame. He ignored the pain in his side as he quickly got out of bed and rushed into the next room as fast as possible, which he didn't think was fast enough. He's never heard such a scream come out of anyone. His eyes glowed red as he scanned the room for what could be making such a terrifying scream.

  His eyes landed on a bench pushed up against the wall and the figure violently thrashing on top of it. He quickly made his way to the figure and realized it was the boy from before. His heart beat was racing as his screams grew louder, but he wasn't hurt. Derek couldn't smell any blood, nor could he see any injuries. He didn't understand what was causing this boy so much pain.

  "Hey! What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong!" Derek tried, but the only response he got was more screaming. He never knew people could be in so much pain.  He was afraid to even touch the boy. He didn't want to hurt him even more. 

  He was even afraid to take his pain. It must be agonizing if it has caused anyone to scream like the boy was. He wanted the screaming to stop. He wanted his pain to stop. He cautiously reached for Stiles' arm and focused on removing any pain he was feeling, but no pain was coming. 

  That confused Derek. How could there be no pain? He had to be in some sort of pain. Then it hit Derek. The kid wasn't in real pain. It must be a dream, no, a nightmare of the worst kind. Derek grabbed hold of Stiles' shoulders and shook him, not violently, but not too gently either. He shook him and called for him. "Stiles! Stiles! Wake up! Stiles! It's a nightmare, Stiles! Wake up!" he yelled as he shook the young boy.

  Suddenly, terrified eyes shot open and he shot up as Derek quickly moved out of his way. His heart was still racing, his eyes were as wide as a deer's, and his breathing erratic. It was like Derek wasn't even there. The boy gripped tightly at his own chest. He dug his nails in as he struggled to breath, and it took Derek a moment to realize what was happening. 

  "Hey, Stiles, come on breathe. In and out. In and out. You can do it. Breathe with me," he said sternly, but he was going more for gentle. He placed both hands on each of the boy's shoulders as his breathing began to slow. "That's it. Breathe. You're safe now, it was just a nightmare."

  "I-don't wa-want to d-die li-like this," Stiles trailed off quietly as he stared down at his feet.

  "You won't. I promise, whatever your scared will happen, it wasn't real?"

  "Ho-how cou-could they d-do that to h-her?"

  That confused Derek, well, it confused him even more. Who was he talking about? What happened to her? He couldn't tell if the boy was actually awake or not. It seemed like he was awake physically, but mentally, he was still in that nightmare. He was just staring into space with this terrified look in his eyes.

  "Stiles, look at me," Derek said but got no response. He gently curled his fingers around Stiles' chin and lifted it so he could make eye contact. "Stiles, I need you to come back to the real world. It was a nightmare, just a nightmare. It's over now, ok?" he explained and watched the look of pure horror faded, but it was replaced by a look of confusion.

  The boy looked up at Derek for a moment as the hand on his chest loosened. He stared at him for a moment before the confusion shifted to shock. He quickly pushed away from Derek but got a bit too close to the edge of the bench. He yelled as he slipped off and landed on the ground with a thud. Honestly, if it wasn't for the situation, Derek would have laughed his butt off.

  "Are you ok?" Derek asked with a raised eyebrow.

  "I-I'm fine!" Stiles' voice was horse and rough, and Derek can hear his heart beat skip. There was a difference between heart beats and this one was definitely one of a liar's."Wh-what are you doing out of bed? You could reopen your wou-" he cut himself off when he saw blood quickly seeping through the bandages and got up off the floor to get a closer look, " Now look what you did! I told you to stay in bed!" 

  "I thought you were dying!"

  "I was fine!" Lie.

  "You sure didn't sound fine! You were screaming like a banshee watching a massacre!"

  "I-I was?" he wasn't yelling anymore. He looked up at Derek with panic in his eyes before he looked back down, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

  "Why are you apologizing?" Derek asked a bit confused.

  "It must have been a horrible way to wake up. Then, if that wasn't bad enough, I yelled at you and you were just trying to help. Your wound is open and it's my fault."

  "Hey, now wait a minute. You couldn't help it. You had a nightmare that's not your fau-" Derek was cut off when he heard the boy mumbling.

  "If I could just control it," he trailed off.  
  "Control what?"

  Stiles looked up then down again and bit his lip. "N-nothing!" Lie.

  "Tell me."

  "I don't have to tell you jack squat," he said as he stood up, "all I have to do is stitch you up."

   Derek watched as the boy walked into what looked like the kitchen and pull out gauze patches, bandages, a rag, a bowl and another bowl full of some kind of liquid. He filled the first bowl with water then he brought everything over to the bench and set them down on the floor. The boy carefully unwrapped the bandages around Derek's waist and Derek looked down at the bowl full of a strange yellow liquid.

  He tried to identify it with the smell, but it didn't smell like anything he'd smelt before. It was sweet but there was something else about it. He was so distracted with the mysterious contents in that bowl that he was caught off guard when the rag was pressed against his wound. He hissed in pain and let out a growl. The boy looked up at him with wide eyes and had pulled the rag away just enough to be off his skin. He stared back at Derek in shock and his heart beat sped up ever so slightly. 

   "I didn't mean to," the boy trailed off and Derek could see his grip tighten on the rag as he brought it closer to himself.

  "It was an instinct. You did nothing wrong."

  "Maybe I should-" Stiles mumbled as he began to stand, but Derek placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him before cutting him off.

  "No, it's fine. I won't do it again. I wasn't paying attention, you just caught me off guard."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Of course."

  The boy gave him a wary look before pressing the rag against his skin again. He cautiously cleaned off the wound, looking up ever so often. Once he was finished he grabbed the gauze patches and dipped them in the mysterious yellow liquid, before pressing it to his wound. Derek was expecting it to sting, but it actually felt rather nice. It soothed the pain from the wound. 

  "What is that?" Derek asked.

  "Medicine. It will help with the wolfsbane. I explained this to you didn't I?"

  "No, I mean what's in it? It seems to work really well. If the royal physician had this I wouldn't hate seeing him as much."

  "Royal physician?" Stiles questioned as he began tightly wrapping the bandages around his waist, "why would you care what the royal physician had? Isn't he only for the royal family?" 

  "Knights are of noble blood. The royal physician helps with our injuries as well."

  "Oh, I see," Stiles mumbled as he finished wrapping him up.

  "So?"

  "So what?" he asked as he began gathering everything he had on the floor and stood up. He set everything down on the table before he began putting it all away.

  "What's in that medicine?"

  "I don't remember." Lie.

  "You lie a lot."

  "Excuse me?"

  "You lie a lot. The heart speeds up when you lie, and I can hear when it does."

  "So? The heart speeds up for many reasons. Anger, fear, love. I could just be thinking of something that makes my heart speed up."

  "It's different. When your angry it only speeds up when you are at the peak of your anger or frustration; in fear or stress it builds up slowly as the fear or stress worsens; for love or nervousness it speeds up whenever you're in the presence of what makes you feel that way and keeps up speed throughout; lying is like a jump, or a quick spike when the lie is said. You were lying."

  "So what? I was lying, big deal."

  "Why won't you tell me what's in it?"

  "I have my reasons. I'll just send some back with you when you leave."

  "What if we run out?"

  "Then come get more. I'll make it for the right price."

  "Seems a bit much."

  "I'm hoping it will be," Stiles said with a small smirk, "bad enough having you here now. I don't really want you coming back."

  "Why are you helping me if you hate me so much?"

  "I honestly don't know," Stiles sighed as he walked over to Derek and sat down next to him, "I can't really find it in me to just get rid of you when you're hurt like this. I don't like you and all, but leaving you out to die would make me just as bad as that stupid king. You've done nothing wrong, well, nothing wrong enough to make me want you dead."

  "What did the king do? Why do you hate him?"

  "I can't tell you."

  "Why? I could help you get back whatever he stole from you."

  "You can't bring back the dead!"

  Derek froze. The dead? Who did his father kill? Things began clicking in Derek's mind as he slowly pieced together things the boy had previously said. "He killed your mother," Derek said softly. He didn't mean to say it out loud, but he did. Now he began to smell the despair and sadness radiating off the boy who had tensed up. He began biting his lip again except this time he was biting it harder.

  "I think you should go back to sleep," the kid mumbled as he stood up and began to walk towards the kitchen, but Derek stopped him when he grabbed his arm.

  "Why did he kill her? There has to be more to this. He had to have had a rea-"

  "The only reason that bastard had was that he was scared! That fear turned to hatred and he took her away from me! She did nothing wrong! Nothing! The only reason she was ripped away from me was what she was born with! It was supposed to be a gift, but now it is seen as a curse that is only reversed by death! Arrogance and hatred from the asshole sitting on his high horse is what killed my mother!" the boy yelled. There were tears falling from his eyes now, and he was breathing heavily.

  Derek stared at the other in shock. He froze as the boy ripped his arm out of his grip and stormed of to a room beside the kitchen. He slammed the door shut as Derek stared at it. There had to be more to it than what the boy had said, right? His father wouldn't just kill someone, right? She must have broken a law of some sort, right?

  The boy said she had a gift that was made out to be a curse. What was the gift? Why did people think it was a curse? Derek tried to place the pieces together. He had all of them, but he couldn't figure out how they connected. What could have gotten a women killed. Stiles wasn't lying when he said she did nothing wrong, maybe he believed that. He could have been told that. 

  No, that wasn't it. He was missing something, or maybe he was just skimming over it. A gift. What could be a gift but considered a curse? He stared at the wound on his side for a moment. The medicine. Why didn't he give him the ingredients? Why was he forced to move to No Man's Land? 

  Then, it hit Derek. Stiles got the recipe from a book written in another language, given to him by his mother. His mother was born with a gift, but people saw it as a curse. No, his father saw it as a curse. Derek now realized why the women was killed. She used magic. She just used magic. Anyone caught doing magic was sentenced to death, good or bad. 

  That book was a potion book. It was most likely for healing. She was most likely a healer, and she was killed for it. Derek hated that law. Her son and husband were forced into hiding. Stiles had been able to make one of the potions. 

  Derek carefully stood up and walked towards the room Stiles had gone in. He paused in front of the door for a moment. Should he really confront him? The boy wasn't in any condition to talk. He probably didn't want to see Derek right now. Maybe he should wait. 

  He could try comforting the other. He wasn't really good at comforting people in these situations, especially not strangers. He could start by apologizing. He'd have to be very careful of what he said after that. He didn't even know his mother, so telling him things about her would be out of the question. 

  Try to say something funny, but Derek has never managed to intentionally say anything funny. Ever. The only time he managed to get people to laugh was when they thought he was being too serious. He was pretty sure Stiles wouldn't laugh at him for that right now. He should probably avoid trying to make jokes. It wasn't really the situation for joking.

  He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It was quiet for a while until Derek broke that silence. "May I come in?" he asked, but the only sound he heard was the boy's shakey breaths and steady heart beat, "I'd like to apologize to your face." Now he heard a bed creaking and foot steps growing closer to the door. It opened slowly and only enough for Derek to see a small sliver of Stiles' face.

  The boy had puffy red eyes with a slightly confused look in them. "You're apologizing?" the boy asked, "what for?"

  "I was foolish for questioning you on something so private. I shouldn't have pushed you so far by sticking my nose where it doesn't belong."

  Stiles opened the door all the way, but the confusion stayed.  After a few moments of staring at Derek the confusion disappeared and the boy looked down. Derek stayed silent for a little longer before the boy looked back up. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but, ultimately, nothing came out. Derek cautiously and awkwardly placed a hand on Stiles' shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. 

  The boy bit his lip and rubbed his arm before letting out a big sigh. "I insulted your king. Your job is to defend him," he mumbled, "it's also your job to look into anything potentially harming to the king, right?"

  "Being nosey and gathering information are two different thing."

  "Yea, if they changed the meaning of different to similar."

  "Would the meaning of similar be changed to different?"

  "That would be a bit contradicting, don't you think?"

  "That's why they don't change the meanings of words."

  "I'm not sure that's right."

  "It probably isn't. I'm sure the meanings of some words have changed."

  "Depends on what you mean by change. They never completely change the meaning, they just add onto it. It always has its original meaning, but new meanings can be added."

  "I thought peasants were uneducated."

  "I'm not a peasant, and, word of advice, people don't like being called peasants."

  "Noted. I didn't mean to insult you."

  "I don't know, you seem to mean to insult me a lot more than you don't mean to."

  "Do you think about what you say? Half the time I have no idea what is coming out of your mouth."

  "See that could be seen as insulting. Maybe you're the one that needs to think before they speak."

  "I should work on wording what I say into a way that isn't too insulting."

  "How about avoiding being insulting at all?"

  "No matter how hard you try, you're always going to be insulting someone."

 The boy nodded his head and sighed heavily before walking back to the bed and sitting down. Derek followed and sat down next to him. "No matter how hard you try, you can't really do a lot of things, huh?" he mumbled as he stared down at his feet.

  "There's a lot of things we can do though."

  "But it's never enough, now is it?"

  Derek stared at the boy for a while. "Are you talking about your mother?"

  "What?"

  "You said she was a good person, but was persicuted for being who she was. She was a sorceress wasn't she?"

  Stiles looked up at him, and Derek could hear his heart begin to race. He knew he was on the right track. People don't respond like that for nothing. He heard the boy swallow hard as he looked down at his feet again. He was silent for a few minutes after that.

  "She was a healer. She would never hurt anyone." the boy said quietly.

  "I believe you."

  "You do?"

  "I've always hated that law, too many innocent people have died from it," Derek explained. If he was going to get anywhere with this boy he would have to get his trust.

  "Really?"

  "Yes, it has always been a dumb law," he said carefully observing the boy, who just nodded and mumbled an agreement, "I'm kind of curious about something."

  "And what's that?"

  "Why are you hiding?" and as soon as he had asked he saw the boy tense. He heard his heartbeat quicken once again.

  "They came after relatives too," he replied cooly, but Derek could hear the subtle distress lying beneath it. There was no skip in his heart beat. He was dancing around the truth.

  "Because magic is believed to be inherited," the boy's heart picked up even more speed, "did you inherit it?"

  "What?"

  "Do you have magic, Stiles?"

  There was a long pause that left the question hanging heavily in the air. The boy was tense and gnawed on his lip. Derek could smell fear on him. He didn't like that smell on this boy. His thumbed twirled in his lap as the boy gazed into space. Derek listened closely to his slowing heart beat, and, after a moment, stopped all his movements.

  "No," he said sternly, but his heart betrayed him. He was lying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES lots of people have been super excited for this part. I'm really happy with all the positive feed back I've been getting!! You are all so sweet!! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's a bit longer than usual! If you're wondering why Derek's wound isn't hurting him don't worry. Next chapter it will be explained. This will not be an inconsistency. TELL ME ANY ERRORS YOU FIND AND WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE STORY SO FAR!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hearts aren't supposed to flutter, stomachs don't flip, and bodies shouldn't feel this light! Yep, he's got to be sick, or something wicked is coming their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stiles' POV

  Stiles was trying so hard to breathe normally and keep his heart steady, well, as steady as it could get with it pounding in his chest like drums before an execution. He was doing pretty well with his breathing, and by pretty well he means he was successfully holding his breath. He should probably stop holding his breath, though. Breathe, Stiles, breathe.

  Stiles slowly exhaled so he wouldn't raise any suspicion. He tried to read the other's expression, but this knight had one of the best poker faces he's ever seen. He wasn't getting anywhere with a void expression like that. He hated that he had no idea what this man was thinking.

  He started bouncing his leg and drumming his fingers against the bed as he looked down, trying to avoid eye contact. Why wasn't this guy saying anything. He was just staring at Stiles. It was unnerving. He attempted eye contact, but it didn't last very long. As soon as he caught sight of those piercing green eyes his gaze dropped down to the injury on the man's side. 

  He cleared his throat and looked down at his lap. "You should go back to the room you're staying in," Stiles mumbled as he gestured to the bandaged wound, "if you move around to much you'll reopen it." 

  "Why didn't you stitch it up then?" the knight asked, and, wow, he's asking a lot of questions. That question wasn't really related to the whole sorcerer thing, but he made it sound like an accusation. It probably wasn't. He probably was just confused, or questioned his skills as a physician. Maybe Stiles should've gotten Melissa's help with this. "Are you still with me?" Was that concern or mockery? Oh, oops, Stiles should answer shouldn't he.

  "Oh, th-the medicine. It needs to get into the blood stream like the wolfsbane."

  "Have you ever done this before?" well damn, sir knight, way to ask all the serious questions now. 

  "You have reached the question asking limit for the day. Please, check back again tomorrow," Stiles mechanically said as he stood up, "are you hungry? Because, I am. I'll make something to eat! It's close to breakfast time right? I think it is!" Way to play it cool, Stiles. He wouldn't be this nervous about it if the other hadn't asked about his mom, or the whole witch craft and wizardry thing Stiles has going on.

  "The sun isn't even dawning," Derek said as he looked towards a window to the left of the bed.

  "It isn't? Oh, well, maybe you should be sleeping. You won't get better without plenty of rest!"

  "Are you feeling alright?" Derek asked and stood up. He reached out for Stiles, but Stiles was not going to let this man come anywhere near him. He dodged the other's hand and quickly made his way to the door.

  "Come on, back to your room!"

  Derek was giving him a funny look now. He was probably really confused by Stiles' sudden change in behavior. Maybe he should stop acting so weird. It might confirm the other man's suspicions. "-eping all day."

  "What?" Wow, Stiles missed all of that. He didn't even realize the man was talking.

  "I said," the man started slightly irritated, "I'm not tired, I've been sleeping all day."

  "O-oh," Stiles trailed off and looked down, "well you are still hurt! You need to lay down at least. You can't move around too much!"

  "So I won't reopen a wound that isn't closed?" Was that mockery in the knight's voice?

  "Are you making fun of me?" 

  "Maybe. You're acting quite strange. It's hard not to make fun of you."

  "That, right there, that was mean. I've been thrown off. Don't make fun of me."  
  "Have I really insulted you, or are you just trying to make me feel guilty?" Derek asks, and Stiles is quite impressed that he's caught on to how he works so quickly.

  "Wow, you caught on to that quickly."

  "You always say things are insulting, but you never seem to really be insulted."

  "I will work on my acting skills. Now, are you sure you're not hungry? I can whip something up real quick. It can be small."

  "Only if you really want to cook. I don't want to burden you."

  "Too late for that. You might-as-well milk it."

  "If that's the case than I want a large ham with some soup and chicken-"

  "I have the ingredients for a small ham and some left over stew."

  "I suppose that should suffice," Derek said sighing heavily, but Stiles could see that ever-so-slight turn at the corners of the man's lips.

  "Good, because, if it didn't you wouldn't be eating," Stiles said and walked out of the room and towards the kitchen as the other followed him. The knight sat down at the table as Stiles gathered all the seasonings he'd use on the ham.

  "It's never a good thing to keep a wolf hungry."

  "Hey, I'm making you food, aren't I? Besides you can't really afford to be picky, now can you?"

  "I could always force you to do as I say. I am a knight."

  "An injured knight. Is that really suppose to scare me?" Stiles asked as he opened a hatch on the floor and took out the meat he had purchased in town, "besides, I don't think you would do that."

  "Oh? And why is that?"

  "I don't know," Stiles trailed off, "you're just, you know, different." 

  "Different?"

  "You're not like the other knights I've met."

  "How so?"

  "Well for starters you don't treat me like shit. You seem to genuinely care about the little guys like me. You're a little self-righteous, but not overly so and can be really polite too. I don't think you're a bad person. I just take out my frustrations on you because you don't serve a very respectable king."

  There was a long pause after that, and then Stiles heard one of the chairs being pushed back. When he looked up to see what the other was doing he was gone. Confusion spread through Stiles mind as he furrowed his brows and stared at the chair, deciding that yep, he's finally lost it. He's gone officially insane. There probably wasn't even a knight to begin with. 

  "How did you keep the meat so fresh?" he heard the man say from behind him and Stiles was pretty sure he just had an actual heart attack. Yep, he was leaping out of his skin alright.

  "Jesus christ! What are you, on stealth mode? Not all of us have super werewolf hearing! Jeez scared me half to death!" Stiles yelled as he turned and glared at Derek.

  "You didn't hear me?"

  "Yea, I did I'm just pretending to be scared out of my mind. Of course I didn't hear you! What are you dense! What kind of question is that!"

  "My apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you."

  "Yea well you did!" Stiles yelled and turned back around to tenderize the meat, "It's cooler underground, so it helps keep it fresh." Reality was that he used a freezing spell to turn the walls of the hatch to ice.

  "I promise to be more aware of the fact we do not have the same capabilities."

  "That sounds like you're holding me below yourself."

    "I assure you, I do not see you as any less of a person than myself. We're just different species."

  "So, you think we're equals?"

  "Your life is just as valuable as my own, Stiles."

  Wow, for some reason hearing that from him made Stiles feel really light inside. He gave a small smile before setting the meat down on a pan. He stopped when he remembered he didn't have anything to light the wood in the oven. He walked to the cabinets and started searching through them to see if he had something that could start one. He knew he most likely didn't. The fire spells were the first ones his mother taught him.

  "Is something wrong?"

  "I-I don't know how to start a fire," Stiles mumbled.

  "How do you usually cook?" Derek asked, and Stiles could not think of a way to answer that, so, he just kept shifting through the cabinets, hoping he wouldn't have to answer. "I'll start it if you'd like," the man said and Stiles could not be more relieved.

  "That would be great actually."

  "I just need steel and a type of flint rock."

  "Flint rock?" Stiles asked. He has never heard of a flint rock.

  "Like quartz, chert, obsidian, agate, or jasper."

  "Oh! I have obsidian and agate!"

  "And what about steel?"

  "I think I have a steel pike? I don't know if its called a pike."

  "How do you live on your own?"

  "Shut up," Stiles grumbled as he went into one of the thinner cabinets and pulled out a long pointed piece of alloy, "I usually use it to sharpen the knives."

  The man grabbed what Stiles called a pike from him and bounced it in his hand. "This should be fine."

  "I'll go get the obsidian!"

  "Actually, agate will work better."

  "O-oh, well, it's really important that I don't damage the agate I have."

  "That's fine, the obsidian should work," Derek said, and Stiles felt light again. He didn't know why he did, but he liked it. He couldn't help the small smile that spread across his lips as he headed to his room to get the obsidian. He walked over to the desk in front of the window and grabbed a black stone from it. When he returned, Derek had already opened the oven and had dropped wood into it. 

  "Boo," Stiles said as he crouched down beside him.

  "Are you trying to scare me?"

  "Depends, did it work?"

  "I heard you coming in, Stiles."

  "See, that's not fair. I should be able to scare you. Return the favor!"

  "Next time you say boo, I'll pretend to be scared just for you, alright?"

  "Just for," Stiles trailed off and looked down at the obsidian in his hands, thinking he must be getting sick. His face is heating up and his stomach feels like it's doing a flip. He didn't hate the feeling. Maybe he should and he's just really odd.

  "Hey, Stiles, you still there?" Derek said as he snapped his fingers in front of Stiles' face, "I asked you to hand me the obsidian five times already."

  "Oh! Sorry I guess I was distracted! That happens a lot," Stiles said as he handed him the stone, "I've never been all that great at keeping focused."

  "It's alright. You're sure you're ok though, right?"

  "Y-yea, I'm fine." No Stiles was not OK. He was probably getting ill. He didn't know why the thought of the other man caring so much about his well being made him feel like he was floating. He had to be sick. It was most likely the result of going out in the middle of that storm.

  "Stiles, I need you to focus on how I do this."

  "Right! I can do that." Honestly Stiles had no idea what was wrong with him. He's never this bad, even when he's with Lydia.

  "You need a specific amount of pressure to set off a spark, alright?" Derek said as he put the obsidian on top of the steel rod.

  "Right, ok pressure," Stiles said and lightly bit his lower lip.

  "Then you slide it across the steel as fast as you can while continuously applying the same amount of pressure. You do that over and over until the fire starts."

  Stiles nodded and watched as the other proceeded to scrape the rock against the steel. Stiles saw sparks a few times before the fire ignited, and for some reason, that intrigued him more than any of the spells he's learned. He stood up slowly staring at the fire. He turned and grabbed the pan with the ham but Derek stopped him. 

  "Careful, you need to but something on your hands to prevent them from getting burnt."

  "R-right," Stiles said laughing a bit, "I knew that!"

  "Are there any pieces of cloth that you don't really use?"

  "Why?"

  "So I can wrap them around your hands, Stiles. You know, so you don't get burnt?"

  "Oh! Right, right!" Stiles said as he pulled open a drawer with many folded pieces of cloth, "these will work right?"

  "Yes, I think so. Come here I'll wrap your hands in them."

  "This seems like a bad idea, Derek."

  "You know what? It prabably is. I've never made ham, or anything really. Its always been made for me."

  "You sound like you're a spoiled child."

  "Not going to lie, I was. I still am. I get everything I want, except a say in who I marry."

  "What?"

  "I'm stuck in an arranged marriage."

  "You're betrothed?" Stiles didn't know why that made him feel so deflated. 

  "I don't love her though. I don't want to marry her."

  "Then don't."

  "Its not that easy, Stiles."

  "Sure it is!"

  "My father is a very pushy man."

  "Elope with the women you do love."

  "I would if I had someone, Stiles, but I don't."

  "No one that catches your eye?"

  "Well I never said that."

  "So you do like someone!"

  "Stiles, don't be nosy."

  "Nosy's my middle name!"

  "How much do your parents hate you?"

  "Not enough to make my middle name nosy I'm afraid."

  "You should probably put the ham in the oven."

  "You do it. First times are always the best!"

  "Do you speak from experience?"

  "Well I've been cooking for a while."

  "That's not what I meant."

  "Than I don't know what you mean."

  "Have you always been so oblivious?" Derek asked as he picked up the pan.

  "You'll burn your hands," Stiles mocked.

  "I'll heal. You wouldn't. I didn't want you hurting yourself over something so trivial."

  "Does the Big, Bad Wolf care about Little Red's safety?" Stiles teased.

  "Of course I do," Derek responded and Stiles felt his heart flutter in his chest. Something had to seriously be wrong with him. One hundred percent wrong. Hearts don't flutter, stomachs aren't supposed to flip, and bodies shouldn't feel this light. Around Lydia he felt something similar, but never to this scale. He was definitely getting sick. He had to be.

  "Y-yea," Stiles trailed off as he absent mindedly watched the other carefully slide the pan into the oven. His hands didn't even seem to be touched by the flames.

  "See I heal way too fast for tiny burns to affect me too much," Derek said, but Stiles didn't hear him. Something was nagging him inside. Something was off, but he couldn't decide whether it was good or bad yet. "Stiles?" suddenly he was snapped back into reality by a gentle hand on his shoulders, a really warm gentle hand, "Stiles are you ok? You keep spacing out. Does this happen often?"

  "What? N-no. I guess I'm a bit more distracted than usual, huh?" Stiles said with a smile. He felt light again, but too light this time. He saw Derek leaning in, and he felt their foreheads press together, before everything started to blur and blacken.

  Someone was walking towards him. He wasn't scared, on fact he was rather void of any emotion. He just kept hearing whispers. "Someone's coming," they would say. There were so many of the little voices whispering to him. When his eyes slowly opened he was in the forest. He heard them now, and the feeling that these people didn't belong grew stronger.  
   
  "Listen, listen," the voices started telling him, so he did. A new set of voices hit his ears. These weren't echoing whispers like the others. They were louder and more assertive, Stiles didn't know why he didn't hear them before. 

  "He has to be around here somewhere! He didn't just disappear!" a more feminine voice shouted.

  "M'Lady we searched all over this land. If he was here we'd have found him by now." a deeper voice replied.

  "He didn't just get up and walk away! There was wolfsbane on that blade! We should have found a body!" the feminine one replied angrily. Stiles immediately thought of Derek. Were these people looking for him? Were they the ones that hurt him? He couldn't let them find him.

  "Look, look," the small whispering voices began saying as two figures came into view. There was a tall blonde woman and a tall built man accompanying her. The woman did not look happy at all. 

  "He couldn't have just disappeared!" she yelled, "I have to be sure he's dead! I refuse to marry a Hale!" A Hale? As in the royal family of Wulfhli? Wait, Derek was betrothed. 

  "But is killing him really necessary?" the man asked.

  The women rolled her eyes and looked towards Stiles. Suddenly the grimace she was previously wearing turned into a large toothy grin that sent shivers down his spine. "Well would you look at this," the woman said as she walked closer to him.

  "What is it M'Lady?"

  "It's a witch's charm. Put up to ward off evil, or show a wary traveler the way back home," she said as she grabbed him. It felt like she was tilting his head up, and he hated it. Her touch burned his skin like a dull fire. 

  "Perhaps the prince was rescued," the man said. 

  The woman dropped Stiles as her grin grew wider. "Let's find out shall we?"

  "Wake up, wake up," the voices echoed, "wake up, you must wake up." Stiles could feel himself waking. Something was shaking him and the echoing, "wake up," had a new voice added to it.

  "Stiles, wake up! You have to wake up! Its a nightmare, Stiles!" the voice sounded familiar. Stiles' slowly opened to see a blurry Derek crouched over him, "Stiles!"

  "D-Derek?" Stiles questioned as his vision cleared. He shot up when he remembered what he had just seen and he frantically looked around. When did he get on the cushioned bench? "How long have I been out!"

  "Hey, hey slow down, Stiles. You've been out for a while. Well, long enough for the ham to finish cooking. I thought you were just exhausted. You made a lot of noise after some time passed. I thought you were having a nightmare."

  "Blow out all the lanterns!"

  "What?"

  "Someone is coming," Stiles said as he quickly got up but lost balance and fell back. Derek quickly caught him.

  "Hey, relax, I'll blow them out alright? Just stay there," Derek said as he stood up. Stiles saw him duck in and out of each room and saw lights go out until the house was completely dark. 

  "Did you get all of them?" Stiles asked in a hushed voice.

  "Yes I put out the oven a while ago," Derek explained as he re-entered the room. His eyes seem to glow red in the dark, and if Stiles thought he had the time, he would be staring.

  "We need to hide before she gets here."

  "She? What are you talking about? Stiles? Don't tell me you're all freaked out over a drea-" Derek cut himself off and looked towards one of the windows, "someone is coming."

  "No shit, Wolfman. Bravo."

  "Shut up. Where can we hide?" 

  "My dad's room under the bed beneath the rug."

  "No offense, Stiles, but that sounds like a terrible hiding spot."

  "Just help me up and quit being a smart Alec. That's my thing," Stiles said as he started standing. Derek wrapped an arm around him and they began quietly making their way to Stiles' father's room until Stiles made them stop. "Wait, wait, wait."

  "What?"

  "Don't forget the ham."

  "Are you serious right now?"

  "I meant it when I said I was hungry. Plus, that's evidence we are here!" 

   "Fine, fine," Derek groaned as he carefully released Stiles, so he could lean against the wall for support. The man rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the pan with the ham on it before, making his way back to Stiles. He balanced the pan in one hand as he wrapped his open on around Stiles. They finally made it into his father's room before Derek gently set both Stiles and the ham down.

   "Lift the bed," Stiles asked. Derek did as he was told and Stiles lifted up a cut out piece of the rug, which was a trap door.

  "I take it back. This is an amazing hiding spot," Derek whispered as he watched Stiles open the hatch.

  "In case the king comes a knocking," Stiles said as he climbed in, "ok carefully get in while holding the bed up. I'll grab the ham and close the hatch."

  Derek nodded and slowly slid inside as he gently dropped the bed while Stiles did what he had said. Stiles grabbed a small lantern that was hanging up and mumbled, "Låt det vara brand," in hopes that Derek didn't see. The room was tall enough for them to walk in, and the lantern too small to reveal anymore than a foot ahead of them.

  "Was the ham really necessary?"

  "Hell yes it was. I'm starving," Stiles whispered as he sat down and placed the lantern and ham in front of him. He watched as Derek sat next to him. 

  "Are you alright?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "You fainted. I was scared that you had gotten ill."

  "I'm alright. I guess I was more tired than I thought," Stiles lied and plastered on a smile.

  "That's good."

  "Hey, I actually have a question for you?"

   Derek looked up at him and Stiles felt his heart nearly leap out of his chest when he saw those eyes. He held his breath for a moment before clearing his throat. "Yo-you're," Stiles trailed off before taking a deep breath, "you're the missing Prince Hale, aren't you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Show of hands, who thinks Stiles is sick? Well, now the cats are all completely out of the bag. Stiles knows about Derek's identity and Derek knows about his. What do you guys think? PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT ERRORS and what ever ideas you might have! Also don't be afraid to tell me what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Someone had asked if I was Norwegian. I'm not Norwegian and I'm not sure if the spells are grammatically correct. I just sent the translation back and forth between English and Norwegian until it the direct translations from Norwegian to English was the same as from English to Norwegian. The reason I chose Norwegian was because in Merlin the spell books were often written using Norse runes and Norse religion originated in Norway. Hope that clears things up. Also if you are Norwegian and want to correct my Grammer please do. I want it to be as accurate as possible!!!
> 
>  
> 
> Derek's POV

  Derek stared at the half lit boy in front of him. He could see him perfectly with the little bit of lighting they had. His eyebrows were creased, and one corner of his lips was curved downwards, while he chewed on the other. He always did that. Always chewed on his lip. Especially when his heart sped up. 

  "A truth for a truth, Stiles."

  "What?"

  "I will be completely honest with you, if you do the same for me."

  "I have been ho-" Derek cut him off by raising his hand up.

  "Do you use magic, Stiles," Derek asked. He can hear his heart speed up more and watched as his eyes widened. The boy quickly looked down and drummed his fingers against the ground.

  "I can't," he mumbled.

  "Yes you can, I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise. I swear to you," Derek said as he gently pressed his hand to the boys shoulder. Stiles' heart beat flickered and he looked up at Derek again.

  "Y-You're not lying?"

  "I swear on my title as a knight. You've done nothing worthy of death."

  "I-I," the boy stuttered out, and Derek can see in his eyes that he was debating it. 

  "Its ok, you can trust me," Derek whispered as he slid his hand to Stiles' arm and gave it a light squeeze.

  The boy's eyes are widening again, and Derek thought he saw him flush as his heart sped up and sputtered. It was a strange pattern. It was different than all the heart beats he had heard from the boy before. He couldn't pin point quite how he was feeling, but it was enough for him to know what be had said was working. The boy opened his mouth than closed it and looked away.

  "I-I do," is all he said, and Derek almost smiled. Almost. The boy trusted Derek enough to admit to the use of magic.

  "I hope that one day, when I become king, you won't feel you have to hide," Derek whispered.

   He watched a smile spread across the boy's features, and he watched him bite the center of his lower lip, instead of the corners, ever so slightly. Stiles glanced at Derek a few times before they heard thumping coming from outside. Derek tensed and Stiles tightly grabbed his arm as they stared at the floor boards above. They were under the father's room, but the thumping was somewhat distant.

  "Derek?" 

  "Yes?" Derek asked and looked over at the boy, but the other was still looking up. The smaller male had continued holding onto Derek's arm, but his grip was looser now. He was still scared, Derek knew this, but he wasn't showing it. The only indication of his fear was in his rising pulse, which had Derek wondering; how many times has he had to hide like this before? How many times has he had to act like he wasn't scared when all he wanted to do was scream his head off and run away?

  Derek didn't quite understand why he was so scared now. This person wasn't after the young mage, they were after him, right? Well, he did somewhat understand the fear, actually. He knew that the people after him could be bounty hunters or just kill the boy for the sake of having no witnesses, but the sorcerer could have just left him to die. What was stopping him from leaving now? A good conscience? Why wasn't the boy answering?

  "Stiles?" Derek asked. The grip the boy had on his arm was tightening again, and Derek realized now that the thumping had stopped.

  "They better not break down my fucking door, I swear to God," the younger whispered quietly. 

  Derek knew that wasn't what the boy was going to say, but maybe making empty threats is just how he copes with stress. "If they break down your door, Stiles, I'll bring you a new one straight from the hinges of the castle itself."

  "Do I get to pick which hinges?"

  "So long as it isn't my sister's room or father's ro-"

  "I want the draw bridge."

  "What?"

  "I said, I want the draw bridge. Castles have those don't they?" Stiles asked, as his grip on Derek's arm loosened.

  "Yes, but-" 

  "I want the draw bridge, Derek, I need it."

  "You need it?" Derek asked with a raised eyebrow. 

  "Don't give me that look. You offered."

  "Yes, well, I wasn't really expecting for you to request the draw bridge. Do you know how big a draw bridge is? Have you even seen one?"

  "Do I look like I've ever seen a draw bridge?" Stiles asked as he turned his head to face Derek. His heart beat had slowed, and his scent was no longer filled with fear. He was relaxed, and that helped Derek relax, but then, they heard a loud and audible thump on the floor boards directly above them. 

  They both fell silent. Derek couldn't even hear Stiles breathing. Was he breathing? Derek glanced over at the boy who was slowly backing away from where the hatch was. He smelled of fear again, but this time it over powering his scent. He was biting his lip. Derek grabbed the lantern and backed up to remain next to the boy. 

  He raised a finger to his lips, and the mage nodded frantically. Derek wrapped an arm around the smaller male and blew out the lantern so that they were submersed in complete darkness. Even Derek's heightened sense of sight couldn't help if there wasn't any source of light, but his other senses did. Stiles breath had hitched, and his pulse was rising. Derek didn't know if these were symptoms of fear, or if this was something else. He decided now was probably not a good time to over think something like that.

  He could hear the careful foot steps of someone sneaking around inside the room above them. There were voices, but they were oddly muffled, and hard to make out. Derek thinks that they're talking about a witch that left, but he's not entirely sure about that. 

  "They want to kill you," Stiles blurted out in a hushed tone, "a woman, she wants you dead."

  "What? Do you know who it is?"

  "N-No. Well, sort of."

  "What do you know about her?"

  "I'll tell you when she leaves."

  Derek nodded and listened closely to the muphled voices above. He could tell they were moving out of the room. He sighed slightly relieved that whoever it was wasn't looking too hard, but that fact was strange. Usually people ransacked houses when they were trying to find something or someone. This person was being cautious. She didn't want anyone to know she was there.

  Stiles didn't seem like he had picked up on this quite yet. He still smelled of fear. "Stiles, I made you a promise, remember?"

  "What?"

  "I promised I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, I even swore it. I intend to keep that promise." 

  Stiles heart stuttered again, and his scent shifted. "How much do you trust me?" Stiles asked.

  "Not much, but you haven't tried killing me yet, so." Derek trailed off.

  "I need you to listen," Stiles began and Derek felt his arm move and heard his hand patting the ground in front of him. He heard the hand hit something before Stiles spoke up again, "Låt det vara brand."

  Suddenly the small lantern was lit again and the boy was standing up. He made his way back to the hatch. "What was that! Where are you going?" Derek whispered loudly as he got up and followed the boy.

  "I have an idea," Stiles said with a small smirk.

  "Are you going to tell me what it is?"

  "You're not going to like it."

  "I'm already full of regret."

  "That's the spirit!" Stiles whispered as he carefully opened the hatch and took a look around before shutting it again, "I need you to howl when I tell you to."

  "Then they'll know we're down here, Stiles."

  "I'll take care of everything I just need you to howl."

  "I'm not going to howl for no reason."

  "Derek, trust me."

  Derek eyed the boy for a moment before he gave him a small nod. Stiles climbed down from the hatch and handed Derek the lantern. "What are you doing?"

  "Shh, Derek, I need to focus on this one," Stiles mumbled as he held out his arms, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, "Gjør veggene ekko og stemmene fjern."

  "What spell is that?" Derek asked curiously.

  "Well there's two people. The woman and this other guy. Only one of them came inside which means the other is outside. The spell I just cast will make any loud noises, echo, so, the one outside won't be able to pinpoint where the howl is coming from."

  "What about the person inside?"

  "I'm going to temporarily curse them, you know if I don't mess it up. I've never cursed anyone before."

  "Stiles, that sounds a bit risky."

  "It's not like I've never used the spell before. I help Scott and his girlfriend go hunting with the spell. I just never used it on a person before."

  "What is it supposed to do?"

  "It messes with the hearing. It makes thing that are close sound far, or depending on how you say it, can make far things sound close. It only last for a short amount of time, though," Stiles explained as he climbed back up the stairs to the hatch, "well there's another problem with the spell. If they see what is making the noise the curse won't be affective."

  "You also have to see them to cast it, which means they could see you."

  "Wow, so much faith," Stiles mumbled sarcasticly.

  "I don't want you getting hurt."

  "You worry to much, besides they aren't after me, they're after you," the boy said with a wink as he opened the hatch and poked his head out, "Anyways, I'm not leaving. I'm going to wait for them to come into veiw."

  "From under the bed?" Derek asked, sporting a raised eyebrow and lopsided smile. That earned him a half hearted glare and a very rude gesture from the boy. Derek was slightly impressed with how quickly the boy could pull himself together, but, no matter how together he was, he was still unbelievably impatient. He hadn't even waited one minute before he started to get antsy.

  "Give me something to throw," he said as he held his hand out expectantly.

  "That sounds like a bad idea, besides there's nothing to throw."

  "I didn't ask for a debate I asked for something to thro-" Stiles froze and crouched down slightly.

  "What's wro-" Derek was cut off by Stiles telling him to shut up in a hushed tone and foot steps returning to the room.

  He held his hand out above the hatch and whispered, "Trick ører og nær vil høres langt," before ducking back under the opening, "howl."

  "Wolves don't howl for no reason."

  "You're hurt and looking for the other knights. I think that constitutes a howl."

  "Stiles, it may summon other wolves. It could put you in danger," Derek said and Stiles smiled softly at him.

  "Hey, don't worry, Little Red's got Mr. Big and Bad himself protecting them, but right now I need to protect you. I need you to howl, the spell will wear off too soon if you don't howl now. Please?" Stiles said as he climbed down. Derek sighed heavily and gave him a look before taking a deep breath and howling as loud as he could go. He could hear it ricochet off the walls and the foot steps suddenly burst back to the window. "Ok, that's enough."

  Derek ceased and Stiles climbed back up to see out of the hatch. He poked his head out once again and looked around the room. He gently pressed against the bed above his head before crawling out of the hatch. Derek was waiting for anything indicating that the boy's plan didn't work. He was waiting for panicked yelling and a racing heart beat, but it never came. Instead he heard the bed slide off the carpet and scrape against the wooden floor. 

  The boy poked his head into the hatch with one of the biggest grins Derek had ever seen, plastered on his face. "Am I a genius or what?"

  "I'm guessing the coast is clear?"

  "Yep, now come up and put a shirt on. We can't stay here. They're bound to come back, and I don't want to be here when they do," Stiles said as he pulled the smaller blanket off the bed.

  "What are you doing?" Derek asked and made his way up the stairs, but Stiles stopped him.

  "The ham, please."

  "What is with you and this ham?"

  "Its for a bribe now."

  "A bribe?" Derek asked as he made his way back down the stairs. He didn't understand what good a ham was to a village boy like him, but he still grabbed the pan of ham and handed it to the male. He watched the boy carefully wrap it in the blanket and put it aside.

  "I have a friend in a near by village. She'd let me stay with her, but you? I'm just bringing the ham for extra motivation, you know?" Stiles explained as he held out his hand for Derek to grab. Derek took the assistance to get back up the stairs and got out of the hatch before the boy stood up, "I'm going to collect a few more things, but try to find a nice shirt to put on."

  "I don't think any of your shirts will fit me."

  "I would definitely love to see you in one of my shirts and all, but I meant for you to find one of my father's shirts."

   Derek got stuck on the first part of that sentence as Stiles picked up the ham and left the room. Was he joking or was he being serious? Derek knew it was probably supposed to be a joke, but normally someone's heart beat would skip, showing they were lying. Usually it could be heard in their tone of voice. He sounded like he could be serious. Derek found it strange that he liked that idea.

   He made his way to a small beat up dresser across from the bed and began shifting through a drawer. He tried not to disturb the folded clothes too much as he searched for a shirt. Derek thanked the heavens that the shirts were in the first drawer he checked. He picked one out and slid it on with a small hiss. He'd forgotten about the hole in his side. He barely even felt it now, it was like a dull throb. 

  "Grab a few shirts for yourself! We won't be coming back for a while!" Stiles called out from the other room. Derek could hear him rummaging through drawers and cabinets. He collected a few more shirts before closing the drawer and walking back into the next room. Stiles was filling up a bag, on the kitchen table, with viles when he walked in. The yellow liquid from before had been poured into a jar that Stiles was shoving into his overflowing bag. "Put your shirts in the bag on the bench."

  "What are you packing?" Derek asked as he walked to the bench. He began shoving each shirt into the bag and noticed it had a few books in it. 

  "Well, this bag is filled with healing potions, you know just in case Miss Crazy Pants gets 'ya, some of my own clothes, a lot of saved up cash, the book I write in, my agate, and a few other things," Stiles explained as he closed the bag.

  "And the one on the bench?" Derek asked as he watched Stiles sling the bag over his shoulder.

  "The clothes you came in, all my magic books, your shirts, and some more cash," Stiles shrugged as he lifted the ham that was sitting on the table. He walked over to Derek and grinned widely, "grab the stew and that bag for me please?"

  "Of course," Derek said as he went into the kitchen area and took the pot. He'd forgotten they left the stew out too. It wasn't heated up so if the person had seen it they could have been tricked into thinking he and Stiles were long gone. He walked back to the bench and set the pot down for a moment so he could put the bag on properly. When he did that he grabbed the pot once again and followed Stiles to the door.

  "Åpne," Stiles said as he stared at the door. The door swung open and Derek followed Stiles out.

  "Don't we need a lantern or something?"

  "Nope! I'm a wizard, Derek," Stiles joked before balancing the ham on one arm, closing his eyes, and holding out his arm, "Lys føre meg."

  Derek was amazed, and slightly worried. The boy was a tad careless with his magic. "Someone could see, Stiles."

  "I'll put it out once we get close to the village. Don't worry Big bad, I've got this," Stiles said , smiling confidently as he began heading in the direction of the nearest village.

  "Is that your new favorite nickname for me?" Derek asked as he followed him.

  "Yeah, actually. Do you like it?"

  "Not really."

  "Good, than its perfect."

  "Does that make you Little Red Riding Hood?"

  "Hell, fucking, yes," Stiles said grinning.

  Derek enjoyed the light hearted conversations they had. It was such a drastic change from how the boy had acted when they had first met. The other male was rather reckless, but Derek found that refreshing. Everyone back at home was always so calm and careful, but, Stiles, was the complete opposite. He was clever, rash, and had an amazing ability to keep himself together when it was needed. He would miss all those traits when he would have to leave.

  When they saw the illuminated village, Stiles put out his light. They were stopped at the gates for a moment before the men guarding the village allowed them entry. The guards seemed to know Stiles. He followed said boy through the village until he stopped in front of a cottage. Stiles balanced the ham on one arm again and knocked on the door. The lights were on and Derek could hear footsteps coming towards the door.

  When it creaked open a shorter woman with curly, black hair came out, drying her hands and sporting a raised eyebrow. She looked at Derek then at Stiles. "Stiles?"

  "Hey! Melissa! I need some help," Stiles said with a smile.

  "Of course, but," Melissa trailed off and stared at Derek with a wary look, "who's he?"

  "That's Derek, he needs help too."

  "Stiles, I'll help you but I'm not letting a stranger into my hou-"

  "We brought ham and stew, made by yours truly!" Stiles said bouncing his eyebrows and grinning widely as he held up the wrapped ham.

  Melissa gave him a look and, after a moment of internal debating, let out a sigh. "Come in," she said as she moved aside.

  "Thanks, Melissa, you're the best!" Stiles said as he practicaly skipped inside. Melissa just rolled her eyes and watched Derek enter.

  "Thank you, Ma'am," Derek said bowing slightly.

  "If you try anything, I will slit your throat in your sleep. Am I clear?"

  Derek stared at her in shock. Was everyone this hostile when they meet people here? "Crystal, Ma'am," Derek said. This would definitely be one of his more interesting experiences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're going to be seeing more of Scott and Melissa, and a new character will be coming in next chapter. By new I mean a character from the show that hasn't been introduced in this story yet. I might introduce 2 but I don't know yet. Hope you guys liked this chapter!! TELL ME ABOUT ANY ERRORS. Also I like when you guys comment about what you think might happen! It helps with new ideas! Tell me what you think!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new character comes in and Stiles is pretty sure Derek knows them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stiles' POV

  Stiles went straight into Melissa's kitchen and set the ham down on the counter. He carefully unwrapped it and removed it from the blanket. Of course, it had gotten cold, but he could fix that easily. "Melissa, do you want the ham heated?" Stiles called out and paused for an answer. He could hear her saying something to Derek before walking into the kitchen.

  "What did you say? I'm sorry I didn't hear you," she said sweetly.

  "Do you want me to heat it up for you?" Stiles asked again smiling. 

  Melissa was about to answer, but the creaking floor boards alerted her. She turned and watched Derek as he walked into the kitchen with the cold stew. Melissa turned her head to get a quick look at Stiles before turning her attention back to the wolf. "I think its better if I heat it up, sweetie," she said warily.

  "Y-you don't have to! I can do it! It'll take no time at all!" Stiles argued and got in position to cast the spell, but, Melissa cut him off before he could even get started.

  "Stiles," she said and turned to face him, "no."

  Stiles felt himself deflate slightly as he looked over at Derek then back at Melissa. It took a moment, but it finally clicked in his head. "Oh! Are you worried about him?" Stiles asked, pointing at Derek, "there's no need to worry! He knows already!"

  "You told him! How could you be so foolish, Stiles! How do you even know this man!"

  "I-I didn't tell him!" Stiles tried. 

  "Then how does he know!"

  "He, sorta, just, figured it out," Stiles trailed off quietly.

   "Well, it's no wonder! Do you even know what discreet is, Stiles!"

  "But I was discreet! Wasn't I discreet, Derek!"

  "Don't bring me into this," Derek said carefully with his hands raised up in surrender.

  "Stiles, you need to be more careful! What if he was one of those missing knights! He could have you killed!"

  Stiles' eyes went wide for a moment before he let out a nervous laugh. "F-funny story," he trailed off scratching the back of his neck.

  Melissa's eyes widened, and she turned to look at Derek then back at Stiles. "Oh my God, Stiles!" She faced Derek and pointed a finger towards the door, "get out!"

  "It's not as bad as you think!" Stiles yelled as Derek began to back away from the kitchen and towards the door, "Derek, don't go!"

  "Not as ba- Stiles, do you know what they will do to you!" Melissa yelled back before turning her aggression back on Derek, "get out I said!" Derek quickly walked out of the kitchen and Stiles could hear the front door to the cottage open and close.

  "But he's not like that!"

  "How do you know! You've just met him! You're so naive, Stiles!"

  "I am not! He's important! I know he is!"

  "And how do you know!"

  "Because I saw him!"

  "Yo-you saw him?"

  "Yes, I saw him! I never have those dreams about strangers. He has to be important!"

  "Stiles, honey, you're playing a very dangerous game here," Melissa said as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

  "I-I know I just-he really seems sincere."

  "Scott, told me you had someone over, did he mean him?"

  "Yes. He was really hurt, Melissa. I couldn't just leave him there."

  "Do you want me to see? I could probably get him out quicker."

  For some reason that made Stiles very upset. He didn't want Derek to leave, at least, not yet. He liked the company. He  liked having him around. He wanted Derek to stay, but he knew he had to leave sometime.

  "I-" Stiles started but was interrupted when the front door open and shut, and Scott walked in.

  "Can someone tell me why there's a man pacing in front of the hou-" Scott stopped mid sentence when he saw Stiles, and his face lit up, "Stiles! What are you doing here? Wait, I smell ham."

  "Yea, I brought some for dinner," Stiles said with a small grin. Leave it to Scott to break the tension.

  "There enough for, Allison?" Leave it to Scott, to make dinner awkward, "she should be here soon."

  "What? Scott, I never said she could come over! Especially not this late at night! Where is she going to stay?" Melissa asked with her hand now resting on her hips. Stiles knew that pose all too well. Scott, was definitely screwed.

  "In one of the guest rooms. We have two," Scott said with a shrug. Now was when Stiles became the enemy.

  "And they're both occupied," Melissa stated, "big, broody guy is with, Stiles."

  "Then me and Allison can share a bed, perfect!" Scott said quickly, and Stiles couldn't help but laugh. Did he really think that would fly?

  "I don't think so!" Melissa argued.

  "Then big, broody guy and Stiles share a room! Easy fix!"

  "That is not happening!" Melissa yelled.

  "I actually don't mind sharing with him, you know, if it's going to be a problem and all," Stiles offered while Scott motioned to him as if to say /see/. 

  "I don't trust him with you, Stiles. I won't risk your safety because of, Scott's poor planning."

  "Oh come on, mom!" Scott groaned.

  "Why not you and Stiles share a bed?" 

  "I don't really have a problem with said plan, but I have a tendency to wake up screaming bloody murder. I don't want to disrupt anyone's sleeping patterns," Stiles explained a bit awkwardly.

  "But you're willing to disturb this, Derek, guy?" Melissa asked with a raised eyebrow.

  "He's not family," Stiles said with a shrug, "better him than you guys."

  Hook, line, and sinker. Melissa's hands fell from her hips and her expression softened. Pulling the family card always made her cave. He wasn't lying about thinking they were family or anything, but it was a very useful tool to bring up. He even use to call Melissa mom, but that was before his real mom died. No one can replace her, not even Melissa, but she still treated him like her son.

   "Alright, you share with broody, but, if he so much as harms a hair on your head, so help me, I'll kill him myself!" Melissa said before walking out of the kitchen, than shouted, "heat up the food!" 

   Stiles grinned widely and high five Scott, who was also smiling victoriously, before putting a hand over the ham. "Återta det som en gång var förlorat," he mumbled before the ham started giving off smoke.

  "Hey, so, is big, broody guy the same knight you found in the woods?" Scott asked curiously.

  "Yea, your mom flipped," Stiles replied as he walked over to the stew and put his hand over it, "Återta det som en gång var förlorat."

  "You're getting really good at that. Have you tried any of the ones from that book, Lydia gave to you last year?"

  "No, it's all in Gaelic. I can't read it, and I'm afraid if I try it'll come out wrong. I don't even know what the spells are for, and most of those spells are centered around the four natural elements."

  "You could ask Lydia for help."

  "I doubt that. I think she wants me to figure it out for my self. I don't know how to do that though."

  "I can ask the book keeper if he has any translations."

  "This is why you and I are friends," Stiles said happily, "just, if he does, ask which one it is, because the Celtics have different dialects than the Scots. I don't know which one she sent me."

  "Wouldn't it be Celtic? Banshee are Celtic right?"

  "They're of Celtic decent. That doesn't mean she can read Celtic Gaelic. It means her heritage is Celtic."

  "Ok so it could be Scots?"

  "Yep, it's a fucking pain in the ass if you ask me."

  "Yea, I bet. Hey, what about the book you have in Latin?"

  "I'm not really good with my pronunciation. The spells come out wrong, and I'm not entirely sure I really know what they do."

  "Aren't people of nobility, like, super educated, especially with languages like Latin?"

  "I guess, why?"

  "Aren't knights nobility?"

  "I doubt a knight is going to help me learn new spells, Scott. For one thing it's kind of punishable by death."

  "What about the one outside?"

  "He's definitely not going to help," Stiles said laughing.

  "Why not? You saved his life! He owes you!"

  "He's already returning the favor, Scott."

  "Oh yea? How so?"

  "He's keeping the fact that I practice magic a secret."

  "That's hardly fair, Stiles."

  "Yea, well, life isn't exactly fair, now is it?"

  Scott stared at Stiles for a moment, before sighing and getting the plates out of the cupboard. "All I'm saying is that you put in so much work to save his ass, but all he does in return is keep a secret? That's bullshit."

  "Yea, well, the world is bullshit, and the quicker I learn that the better. I don't have the luxury of living in a happy, everything turns out ok, bubble, Scott. According to the king I deserve to die just for my cultural practices. I'm not saying you have it easy, God knows you don't, but I'm not like you. I can't pretend everything is ok."

  "Yea, well you shouldn't run away from your problems either, Stiles."

  "What do you want me to do, Scot-" Stiles began yelling but was cut off by Melissa, who had rushed into the room.

  "Hey, hey, what's with all the yelling?" she asked.

  Stiles looked at Scott and sighed heavily. He loved Scott, and all, but he tended to get on his nerves. "N-nothing, I'm sorry for yelling at you, Scott. I know you're just trying to help," Stiles mumbled  before going into one of the drawers and grabbing silverware, "I'll help set the table."

  "Thank you, Derek can you get the bowls for the stew?" Melissa asked as she turned around and motioned for Derek to come into the kitchen. Stiles hadn't even seen Derek. Did he hear everything? Why did Stiles care if he had? He should hear it, because it's true. Thanks to his family Stiles couldn't even have the small luxuries of a normal villager. To put it bluntly, his life really sucked, and it was Derek's family's fault.

  Derek nodded and gave Stiles, what he thinks may be a look of concern, before Stiles rolled his eyes and pushed past him to get to the table. Derek looked somewhat confused for the half second Stiles actually saw his face, as he purposely slammed his shoulder into him. He could care less right now because, Scott was right. It was bullshit. Complete bullshit.

  Stiles began setting the silverware down and watched Scott mumble something to Derek before he walked over with the plates. He looked back down at the silverware and finished placing them on the table, before helping Scott with the plates. He glanced up at Derek who was looking for the bowls and sighed. "They're in the cupboard on the left, Derek," he said with irritation in his voice.

  Derek sent him a look before getting the bowls. As Derek made his way to the table Stiles made his way back into the kitchen to help Melissa bring the food to the table. He figured the stew would be the heaviest, so he lifted that and brought it to the table as Melissa took the ham. Stiles could see Derek eyeing him out of the corner of his eye. It was a bit unnerving actually.

  Stiles was about to sit down next to Scott before, Scott stopped him. "Allison is coming, Stiles."

  "That hurts me on a spiritual level, Scott. A spiritual level," Stiles said dramatically before walking around the table and sitting down, "I remember a time when I mattered to you, I thought we were brothers Scott, brothers."

  "Oh don't be so dramatic, Stiles," Scott said laughing a bit.

  Stiles gasped loudly as he put his hand to his chest."How dare you mock my pain by laughing at my misery!" he yelled jokingly.

  "What's wrong, sweetie?" Melissa asked as she placed a hand on Stiles shoulder and sat down, "don't you want to sit next to me?"

  "Ofcourse, I always want to sit next to you," Stiles said and Melissa laughed as she removed her hand, "unlike, he who should not be named, you would never abandon me for some man."  
    
  "Allison's a girl!" Scott argued.

  "Never would I abandon either of you," Melissa said smiling.

  "This is why you're my favorite, Melissa."

  "Wait, what? I thought I was your favorite, Stiles!"

  "You have betrayed me, Scott."

  "Ok, ok, I'm sorry, but I don't get to see her often."

  "I get it, Scott it's fine."

  "Just making sure you aren't secretly mad."

  "I'm always secretly mad," Stiles joked and looked at Derek who was taking the seat next to him. He turned back to Scott, and awkwardly drummed his fingers on the table. "So, hey, I'm starving. Is it ok if I start eating, or are we waiting for Allison?"

  "You can eat whenever you want, hun. Just leave enough for her," Melissa said smiling. 

  Stiles smiled back before standing up so he wouldn't struggle too much to get the stew into his bowl without spilling any. Once his bowl was filled enough, he set it down and looked at Derek. "Do you want me to pour you some?"

  "Oh, yes, ofcourse," Derek stammered a bit and lifted his bowl for Stiles, who was about to pour some in, before Derek spoke up again, "please."

  Stiles stared at Derek for a moment, a bit surprised. He didn't understand why the other was being so, awkward. Was he uncomfortable? Yea, probably. He probably wasn't comfortable at all. Stiles felt kind of bad, now that he thought about it. 

  He was a bit short with him earlier. Derek probably thought he did something wrong, unless he heard the conversation. Stiles would be surprised if he didn't, but still. He knew he shouldn't have been that way with him, but he really couldn't help it. He was the closest thing to what Stiles hated most, and it was almost natural for him to be spiteful towards the prince.

  Stiles poured the bowl of stew for Derek and set down his bowl before sitting back down. Just as he hit the chair there was a knock on the door. 

  "I'll get it!" Scott yelled before rushing out of his seat and to the door.

  Stiles could hear Scott open the door and some muffled voices before Scott walked back in with Allison. Stiles turned around in his seat, so he didn't have his back turned to her. "Hello miss McCall, thank you for letting me stay," Allison said smiling.

  "Of course, anytime!" Melissa said happily.

  "Stiles, it's nice to see you too! Who's your frie-" Allison cut herself off as Derek turned to face her and their eyes went wide as they stared at eachother. "St-Stiles, who's this," she asked all excitement gone, leaving behind caution in her tone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! So, yes Allison recognized Derek and vise versa. They're neighboring kingdoms so their families do interact. Allison is trespassing in the Wulfhli kingdom and nobles aren't supposed to date peasants, and Derek is supposed to be missing. Tell me what you all thought I love seeing people comment! INFORM ME OF ANY ERRORS I HAVE MADE PLEASE.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek is sitting in the middle of one of the most awkward dinners he has ever had, and when Stiles questions him about Allison he slips. With that slip a new identity is revealed, but this one isn't so innocent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Derek's POV

  "This is, Derek," Stiles trailed off, confusion heavy in his voice, "is something wrong?"

  Yes, something is definitely wrong. Derek is almost certain that the girl standing in front of him is Allison Argent, the niece of the women he is betrothed to, and daughter of Chris Argent, heir to the Dræfend throne. He is pretty sure that she was not granted permission from either kingdom to visit a peasant boy, let alone cross into Wulfhli territory. If she had permission then she most likely lied to get it. This Scott, boy didn't seem to have a single clue as to who she really was. If it gets out that a member of the Argent royal family is dating a peasant from Wulfhli, who, Derek, was fairly certain was not human, it would be catastrophic.

  Scott didn't smell human and Argents hated most things that weren't. Scott could get killed for this. That would be devastating for Stiles, and, for some reason, it was important to Derek to avoid that. Now he was realizing another problem. What if Allison told her family where he was? What if they told his family, or sent knights to kill him? He could put everyone here in danger. One thought entered his mind as he looked over at Stiles, trying his best to hide his concern. 

  He could put Stiles in danger. If his father sent guards or knights to retrieve him, they would find the young boy, and if they figured out what he was, there is no doubt on what the out come would be. They would blame the sorcerer for his absence, and have him burned. Even if they had no evidence, they would have him burned. Derek promised to protect him. He can't go back on that promise.

  Allison was quiet for far too long, and now everyone in the room seemed suspicious. Stiles was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. They made eye contact for a moment, and Stiles narrowed his eyes at him before he looked back at Allison with the same narrowed eyes. He was studying her. She was glaring at Derek, and that probably confused him. He glanced at Derek then back to Allison and gave a slow nod. That look on the boy's face makes it obvious that he knows they recognize each other, but he doesn't know how. He was definitely going to get interrogated about this.

  "Allison? Are you ok?" Scott asked worriedly. 

  Her expression softened as she shook her head, "what?" she asked before looking up at Scott and smiling, "oh, um, no, no. I'm fine! Everything's great!"

  "Are you sure?" Melissa asked curiously.

  "Yep, definitely!" she replied, smiling widely, "so, um, where do I sit?"

  "Oh next to me!" Scott said happily. He seemed to be completely ignoring the whole stare down that had just occured, or he was just that oblivious. As if this dinner wasn't awkward enough, Allison is shown to the seat directly across from Derek. Silence fell over the table, and, honestly, it had become more unnerving than listening to the way his father talks about people like Stiles. He remembered the things he would say as Melissa began cutting up the ham and passing the slices around the table.

  He talked about them like they weren't even people. They were just sins. Just disgusting, and evil creatures that roamed the earth and deserved to suffer and die as painfully as possible. He always thought his father was exaggerating, but he didn't realize how wrong he was. Stiles wasn't evil. He wasn't just some creature of sin. He was a person. An actual person who felt pain, who can show compassion, selflessness, and was nothing like any of the things his father had said.

  Stiles made it very hard to understand his father's hatred for magic. He may have been rude and sarcastic, but it was refreshing to have someone who wasn't afraid to speak their mind, even if he knew he was royalty. Derek became aware of the bouncing leg and tapping fingers of the boy next to him. He seemed very uncomfortable. His sent was filled with anxiety, and he was biting his lip again. He got the feeling that Stiles really wasn't a fan of this heavy and over bearing silence.

  "So, I hear you come from Dræfend," Derek stated, which apparently, was the wrong thing to say because, now Stiles was sending him a very cautious look. It wasn't a glare, but it was definitely a warning, to watch what he was saying. He cleared his throat and tore his gaze away from Stiles to look at Allison, who was glaring at him. Right now Derek is fairly certain everyone, but Stiles, is glaring at him. "I hear it's a beautiful kingdom. Definitely has more freedoms."

  "Do you?" Allison asked politely, but there was an aggressive under tone, "what kind of freedom are you referring to?"

  "For example, the use of magic is punishable by death here, but in Dræfend it is not. It is considerably safer for those who practice the art of sorcery, is it not?" Derek replied before he glanced over at Stiles. He was staring at him with wide eyes and had stopped all his movements.

  Allison hesitated for a moment. She may have been expecting some wise crack on the fact she was dating a village boy, but Derek wasn't trying to start anything. He promised to protect Stiles, and it would be easier to protect him if he remained in Dræfend. Allison looked over at Stiles for a moment before answering, "Well, yes, but magic isn't exactly accepted there. Users are still persecuted, but only if they actually use magic. If caught, they are imprisoned and are still highly discriminated against."

  Derek deflated slightly when he heard the reply. Why was everyone so against the use of magic? It could be extremely beneficial. "I don't understand the hatred towards magic," Derek mumbled.

  Allison looked at Stiles, who was still staring at Derek in shock. "Stiles, does he know about you?"

  Stiles' attention snapped to Allison and he bit his lip again. "Ye-yes, he knows," he stuttered out quietly.

  "Do you know who he is?" Allison asked with alarm in her voice.

  "He's aware of my status," Derek answered for him and glared at Allison, she shouldn't have yelled at Stiles, "do they know who you are?"

  "What is he talking about?" Scott asked confused and a but distressed.

  "Nothing," Allison replied. Derek found it amazing that her heart didn't even skip a beat.

  Scott looked at Derek expectantly, while Derek stared at Allison before he looked down and began cutting up his slice of ham. "It's nothing I should get involved in. Don't worry too much about it."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Scott asked. He sounded like he was getting upset. Derek assumes Stiles can hear it too because the boy gives, Scott that 'watch what you say' look.

  "It means he's minding his own business, Scott," Stiles explained, but his voice didn't hold any warnings in it. 

   "Scott, it's fine. Don't worry about it," Allison said with a small smile.

  "You'd tell me right?" Scott asked. He needed to be reassured desperately.

  "Of course," Allison said and placed her hand over the other's. That seemed to subdue Scott's questions for now, but the uncomfortable silence fell over them again. 

  Derek chose not to try and break the silence for a second time, since it worked /so/ well last time. Instead of the insistent tapping of his finger against the table or the constant bouncing if his leg, Stiles was now excessively and aggressively cutting the slice of ham on his plate into smaller and smaller pieces. Scott had started staring at him with a concerned expression, and soon Allison and Melissa had also started to appear concerned as well. 

  "Stiles, dear, are you alright?" Melissa asked warily.

  "Yea, just fine, why do you ask?" Stiles replied, but kept his focus on the meat he was cutting.

  "Because," Melissa started and gently placed her hand on the one Stiles was holding a fork in, "I'm fairly certain a baby bird could safely swallow your ham right now, sweetheart."

  Stiles stopped and stared at the tiny pieces he had created for a moment, then looked up at Melissa with a, clearly forced, smile. "Just trying not to choke on the unbearable silence that has consumed this table, is all," everyone just stared at Stiles for a moment before he scooped up some of the pieces on his fork and held it up, "seriously, the friction here can be cut and is suffocating. It's like eating with my dad when he's mad at me and won't tell me why."

  "What do you want us to talk about, Stiles?" Scott asked with a small laugh.

  "I don't know, how about the fact that Allison got a hair cut, and I'm fairly certain I've never seen her wear that shirt, is it new?"

  "What?" Scott asked confused and looked over at Allison.

  "Jeez, Scott, I love you and all, but pay attention to your girlfriend. Don't you have like super werewolf senses or something?"

  "It is a new shirt by the way. Thank you for noticing," Allison chimed in.

  Stiles stared at Scott expectantly for a good minute, and all Scott did was stare right back at him with an extremely confused expression. He obviously is not taking the hint. "What?" Scott asked and looked around himself to see if something was out of place.

  Stiles groaned, rolled his eyes, and tiredly ran a hand over his them. "Wow, Allison that shirt looks amazing on you! Really, you look great!" Stiles yelled dramatically and motioned to her. He didn't exactly look at her because, it wasn't exactly directed to her. It was more of, Stiles telling Scott what to say, and, if Derek wasn't so uncomfortable right now, he'd probably be laughing. This Scott, friend of his is really quite oblivious sometimes. 

  It seems he finally got the hint though because, his eyes went wide and his mouth formed and 'O'. It was actually quite comical to watch. "Y-yea!" Scott stuttered out hurriedly as he turned to Allison, who, Derek could tell, was on the verge of breaking out laughing at Scott's apologetic smile, "you look awsome!"

   "Thank you, Scott," Allison said, only letting out a small bit of the laughter she was containing. 

  "There we go, isn't that better than trying to kill each other with one look? I for one like the lighthearted conversations more than heavy silence," Stiles stated with a smile.

  "They say silence is golden," Derek argued with a small grin.

  "Well, I'm not exactly the 'golden boy', now am I?" Stiles retorted as he put air quotes up, "but, hey, I'm priceless."

  "And by priceless you mean you don't have a single coin to your name," Scott joked and laughed when Stiles flung, some kind of vegetable from his stew, at him.

  "Hey, no throwing food!" Melissa yelled, but she wasn't mad. In fact, she was laughing as well.

  "Don't worry, Stiles. A man's worth isn't measured by how much money he has, Allison said smiling widely, "It's measured by what is in his heart."

  "Oh no, don't make it sappy Allison. I'm priceless because I'm one in a million. No one else like me in the world."

  "I certainly, have yet to meet anyone like you, and I travel quite often," Derek added in. He found it remarkable how Stiles was able to turn one of the most uncomfortable dinners in his life, into a very enjoyable meal. He says what's on his mind, and, in this particular situation, it helped a lot. It was definitely different from dinner for the Hale family. The table wasn't overly sized, everyone was so close together, and actually talking to each other. When he had dinner no one would talk unless his father had something to say. He wasn't constricted, or over thinking about what he was saying. He was actually enjoying having dinner with these people more than with his own family.

  There were no more gaps of unnerving silence through out the entirety of the meal. Derek didn't contribute much to the conversations, but it was nice just listening to them. Allison still sent him wary looks, but she wasn't ready to jump down his throat anymore. When dinner ended, and they had finished cleaning up, Derek went towards the door where they had left their bags. 

  "I'll show you to the room we'll be sleeping in," Stiles said as he walked into the room, "you don't mind sharing, right? Melissa didn't want Scott and Allison in the same room, so."

  "That's fine, I don't mind at all," Derek replied before Stiles began leading him to the room. The room the boy brought him to was decently sized. It wasn't as big as the one back home, but it was bigger than Stiles' room. It had a slightly larger bed, a dresser, bedside table, and desk. He dropped the bags onto the desk and rolled his shoulders as Stiles closed the door. He recited what Derek assumed was a spell of some sort. He wasn't paying enough attention to distinguish the sounds he had made.

  Stiles turned with a heavy sigh and gave him this look. "What?" Derek asked a bit confused.

  "Got something you want to share, Derek?" 

  "I don't know what you're talking about, Stiles."

  "You don't?" 

  "No, no I don't."

  "How about what happened when you saw Allison? The questioning of how Dræfend deals with magic? What aren't you telling me? How do you know her?"

  "I was just trying to find somewhere safer for you. You can't just hide forever. That's no way to live."

  "Don't tell me how to live my life, ok? I can figure it out for myself, just like I've been doing! Why did you even think that she would know that?"

  "She did know that."

  "Yea, which is surprising!"

  "Why?"

  "Despite what you nobles might think, villagers aren't well informed about the laws. We only pay attention when it applies to us!"

  "You never think to ask?"

  "What?"

  "You never think to ask. If you ask it could help."

  "What are you even talking about!"

  "The spell book. Why don't you want my help. I know Latin, Stiles."

  "Stop right there! We aren't even talking about that!"

  "Well I am. Do you really think keeping a secret is the equivalent to saving a life?"

  "Were you eavesdropping? Do you know how rude that i-"

  "No, you know what's rude, Stiles? Assuming that someone is a horrible person because of who they are related to. Assuming that after saving my life, the only thing I'd do to repay you is keep your secret!"

  "God, what are you even talking about right now! If you want to help then fine! I'll ask you for help! I just wanted to make sure you didn't get in major trouble because of me!"

  "I can handle myself, Stiles."

  "I-I'm aware of that. I just didn't want to make it any worse for you," Stiles trailed off an looked down.

  "Worse for- You're not making it worse for me. I don't feel obligated to help you. I want to help you. It's my choice, Stiles. Don't assume things like that."

  "Fine, I'm sorry. I honestly didn't mean to offend your 'knightly honor'," he said sarcastically, "how do you know a village girl from Dræfend, like Allison?"

  "Well she's not really a villa-" Derek cut himself off. Allison didn't want them to know. She was keeping it a secret for a reason.

  "What do you mean she's not a village girl?"

  "I didn't say that."

  "You were about to! Derek, who is she?"

  "I can't say."

  "Is she nobility?"

  "Scott, will hear."

  "I muted the room. Stop making up excuses and tell me."

  "She's the niece of the women I'm betrothed to, and the heir to the Argent thrown after her father takes over," Derek answered hesitantly.

  "Argent, as in, the Argents? Royal family?"

  "Yes, the Argents."

  "Oh my God," Stiles mumbled into his hand as he brought it to his mouth. He was no longer making eye contact and look to be in shock. 

  "Stiles, it doesn't change who she is-"

  "No, you don't get it! The women in the- in the woods sh-she," he wasn't speaking in full sentences anymore, and, knowing him, that was quite worrying.

  "What about her?"

  "She tried to kill you," Stiles trialed off again.

  "So?"

Stiles looked up at him with wide, deer like eyes full of fear, "She said she didn't want to marry a Hale."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I don't know if that was completely cringe worthy, but I hoped you all liked it none the less! I might post the next chapter earlier than Tuesday this time because it is almost complete and I'm a bit impatient. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Tell me what you think! IF I MADE ANY GRAMMATICAL OR SPELLING ERRORS PLEASE INFORM ME. I will correct them when I have the time to, thank you!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek calms Stiles down after a panic attack, and adresses the issue of Kate trying to kill him with Allison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stiles' POV

  Stiles was on the verge of a panic attack. The woman trying to kill Derek has a niece, and she is dating his best friend. Allison can tell her where Derek is. Scott and Melissa could be put in an enormous amount of danger, because of him. Maybe that's why she was so shocked to see Derek. Maybe she thought he was already dead. Stiles couldn't breathe. He couldn't. He tried, but each breath got stuck in his throat. They were being blocked by the fear and anxiety building up inside of him.

  Black flowers bloomed in the corners of his eyes, and he couldn't see Derek anymore. He wasn't there. He was gone. What if he was already killed? There's ringing in his ears. It was dull and quiet, but was getting louder with every second that passed. He could see Allison, and it's as if his lungs aren't even there anymore. He can't breathe. He can hear something muffled and far away. He thinks Allison's lips are moving. Is she talking to him? There was something touching his back, and he needed to run, to get away from it, but he froze, and the flowers were spreading.

  "Breathe!" someone yelled at him, or was he telling himself that? It didn't sound like himself. "In and out, breathe with me, Stiles," that was definitely someone else. He could hear someone breathing and started trying to match it. The flowers in his vision began to wilt and die, and the ringing in his ears began to fade. His hearing was clearing, and he could recognize the voice guiding him through each breath. It's Derek, and he's alive. Stiles looked at him, and he wasn't even hurt. He was ok.

  "What the hell did you do to him!" Allison yelled at Derek, and Stiles was ready to jump right out of his own skin again. He gripped onto one of Derek's arms tightly as his head whipped towards Allison because, right now, he really needed an anchor.

  "Don't yell, you're scaring him," Derek said calmly and gently began rubbing small circles into Stiles' back, "I didn't do anything. He wasn't like this when I left the room to get you."

  "You've obviously already succeeded at scaring him, Derek! I should get Melissa. That was a really bad one," Allison said as she headed towards the door.

  Stiles tightened his grip on Derek and bit his lip. He was trying to keep himself grounded. She couldn't go to Melissa. She might hurt her. "Allison, just stop and listen, ok? He's really shaken right now. If too many people come in it could cause him to have another attack. Just sit down on the bed for now, please?" The bed? Wasn't Stiles in front of the door? When did he sit down in front of the desk? 

  Allison glared at Derek for a moment before walking over to the bed and sitting down. "Start talking, because he doesn't get like that unless it's serious."

  "He asked who you were, and-"

  "You told him who I was!" Allison yelled and shot up from the bed, which, in turn, caused Stiles to flinch slightly. 

  "I-I figured it out," Stiles mumbled quietly, "I'm not ob-oblivious, you know."

  "I-I never said you were, Stiles. Are you alright? Did he do something to you?"

  Stiles could feel the anger radiating off of Derek. "I didn't do anything to him," despite the anger, Derek sounded very calm and collected, and Stiles was very appreciative of that.

  "H-he's betrothed to your aunt?" Stiles asked. He needed verification.

  "Yea, so what?" 

  "He told me earlier that he saw a woman and she said she didn't want to marry a Hale. He thinks your aunt is trying to kill me, I think. I don't know what he meant by saw her, but it really freaked him out," Derek explained.

  "Saw? You saw her? What did she look like. Describe her!"

  "Sh-she um, she had long blonde hair and was wearing a leather corset I think. There was a shorter man with her and he had some sort of crest on him. It had a sword faced downward with a knight's helmet over it and an eagle with it's wings spread out behind it. I think there were quivers with arrows in them on either side."

  Allison looked very calm for a moment, but then she stood up and stomped over to Stiles. She grabbed both his shoulders and got right in his face. He could feel the panic rising inside him once again and it was getting hard to breathe. "Allison back off you're making it worse," Derek warned.

  "Are you sure, Stiles? I need you to be absolutely certain that is what you saw. No 'I thinks' no 'maybes'. Are you sure you're right about this?"

  "Allison stop you're suffocating him," Derek hissed and stood from his crouched position.

  "Stiles, answer me."

  "I-I'm s-sure," Stiles stuttered out and Allison pulled away, as Derek stepped between the two. Stiles couldn't see his expression, but he was furious.

 

  "How dare you!" Derek growled out.

  "He's excusing my aunt of trying to kill you!"

  "He saw what he saw! You should not of gotten up in his face like that!"

  "I just wanted to make su-"

  "Make sure what? Make sure he was thoroughly scared to death? He can hardly breathe!"

  "I-I didn't mean to-"

  "Start off another attack? What did you think get up in his face like that would do?"

  "I-I'm sor-"

  "Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Stiles," Derek said as he stepped aside and gestured to him. Stiles was slightly shocked that Derek had stuck up for him like that. 

  "Stiles, I really am sorry," Allison said, but Stiles wasn't paying any attention to her at the moment. He was too busy staring at Derek. He really wasn't anything like he expected the son of such a hateful king to be. "Stiles?" 

  Stiles snapped back to reality and look back at Allison, who was giving him a worried expression. "Yea? Oh, i-it's alright, you didn't know," he answered with a soft smile.

  "I just can't believe Kate would do that," Allison sighed, "well, actually I could but still."

  "You would think she would at least wait until she had control of my kingdom, right?" Derek mumbled.

  "Hey, can we continue this conversation tomorrow? I'm really tired right now," Stiles said as he stood up.

  "Yea, no, of course! I'm really sorry." Allison smiled and patted his shoulder before walking out of the room. 

  Stiles waited for the door to shut before sighing heavily and walking towards the bed. Derek was right behind him, watching to make sure he didn't collapse or something. Stiles plopped down on the bed face first and released an audible groan, knowing that his shirt was riding up. Derek crouched down beside him and placed a gentle hand on the center of his bare back.

  "Are you alright, Stiles?" 

  Stiles turned his head to look at Derek and smirked slightly. "Rather protective of Little Red, aren't we, Big Bad?"

  "I didn't like the way she got in your face. You were already treading on thin ice. I didn't want the ground to shatter beneath you again."

  "I don't even remember sitting down or you leaving the room."

  "That's not good, Stiles."

  "I know. I've got a headache and everything now," he said. His head was pounding, but for some reason it felt like it was melting away the moment he mentioned it. In fact, he was starting to feel really relaxed all of the sudden.

  "You really freaked yourself out, huh?"

  "I do that sometimes. Although, that one was really bad."

  "It must have been. I'm sorry I left you alone like that. I should have sensed your distress."

 

  "Really, I'm just focused on how you were so protective of me. Thanks for that."

  "Of course. You seemed like you were going to start another panic attack."

  "Yea," Stiles trailed off tiredly, "what are you doing to my back? I feel all numb."

  "Do you not like it? I'll stop if you want me to."

  "No, no, I like it. It's really calming, but I'd like to know what it is."

  "Some werewolves have the ability to take away another's pain. It only works if I'm touching bare skin. Are you always so sore?"

  "I'm on my feet literally all day. Of course I'm sore, but what you're doing feels so nice."

  "Does it?"

  "Oh yea," Stiles mumbled smiling, "so, you'll help with my spells?"

  "If you want me to. I'll be happy to help. I'd rather you know what you're doing when you use magic."

  "You are nothing like your father. You're really sweet."

  "That is the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

  "I've been really unfair to you. Judging you on what your father has done. I'm sorry for being so short with you. I'm not angry at you."

  "You're angry with my father. I understand, Stiles, you don't have to explain yourself to me."

  "See, I really don't get why Kate is trying to kill you."

  "Why not?"

  "You're a really great person."

  "You think so?"

  "Well you're really nice to me, despite my 'fuck you' attitude."

  "I like your attitude. It's quite refreshing."

  Stiles sat up and Derek removed his hand. Stiles pulled his shirt down so it was no longer bunched up, before staring at Derek for a moment. He was getting that floating feeling in his stomach again. It gave him this warmth that spread through his body, but it felt really nice and bubbly, rather than uncomfortable. It was really great actually. 

  "You don't have to be so nice to me, Derek."

  "Why do you think that everything I do is some how an obligation?"

  "I-I don't! It's," Stiles trailed off and looked down before he shrugged, "I don't expect kindness from you. It just, catches me off guard sometimes, you know?"

  "I just don't think you deserve the cruelty dealt to you. I could feel the pain you were in, Stiles. You don't deserve that."

  "Taking my pain hurts you?"

  "Not like it hurts you. It's more like a ghost. It's there but not really there, there."

  "That's a shitty explanation. If it hurts you then don't do it."

  "It doesn't hurt me, Stiles."

  "Are you lying to me?"

  "Are you calling me a liar?"

  "N-no, I just thought that you might be, you know, just this once, so I wouldn't get mad at you."

  "Stiles, you're always mad at me. Sometimes you're just better at hiding it."

  "I'm good at hiding a lot of things. It's kind of a skill I need."

  "You're only good at hiding if someone doesn't bother to dig a little deeper. You really do need to be more careful." 

  "I'm used to being alone, which means, I can do what ever the fuck I want."

  "But when you're not alone, you have to restrain yourself."

  "But not when I'm with you, right?"

  "Of course not around me. Magic is honestly, quite fascinating, and the fact that you feel comfortable enough to use it freely around me is wonderful. Just, be careful around others."

  Stiles felt his heart flutter again, and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips. Knowing that Derek cared so much about his safety, made him feel unbelievably giddy. He could feel his insides bubbling up and becoming lighter, and it felt so nice just to talk to him like this. Derek began standing and placed a hand on Stiles' thigh for leverage. Stiles felt his face heat up at the contact, and the skin under his hand burn began to burn. 

  "I think we're both pretty tired, Stiles. Let's try and get some sleep, yea?" Derek said before patting his shoulder and walking to the other side of the bed.

  "Y-yea," Stiles trailed off and looked down at his thigh, "and what about that woman."

  "Don't worry, Stiles, I won't let Kate hurt you."

  "I'm not really worried about myself, Derek," Stiles said as he turned around to face him, "what if she attacks Melissa or Scott, or you? I don't want anyone getting hurt."

  "It'll be ok, Stiles, don't worry so much. You'll give yourself nightmares," Derek said softly as he sat down on the bed, "but on the slim chance that is does happen, don't play hero."

  "Alright."

  "I mean it, Stiles."

  "Ok, I get it. Don't forget to take off your shoes. I don't want dirt all over the beds."

  "I was raised in a castle, Stiles. I know what to do before bed," Derek said with narrowing eyes.

  "Really, I thought people did it for you?" Stiles mocked as he shrugged.

  Derek picked up a pillow and hit Stiles with it, but Stiles just burst out laughing as soon as the pillow hit him. "You know I could have you killed for making fun of me."

  "Oh, honey, you can have me killed for a lot of things. I'm practically walking death row as we speak!"

  "How about, you tell me all the illegal things you have done? It stays between us, don't worry about the charcoal and paper," Derek said jokingly.

  "That's a long list, Der, you're gonna need a long as fuck piece of paper."

  "Der? Another nickname?"

  "Yea, do you like that one?"

  "Actually it's not that bad," Derek said as he began removing his shoes.

  "No, the nicknames are meant to annoy you! How about Der-bear?" 

  "Bear? Why bear?"

  "It rhymes with Der, duh," Stiles explained as he kicked off his shoes and got under the covers.

  "You're a strange one, Stiles."

  "Only because, I'm not used to all this human interaction. I feel like some kind of hermit."

  "You are a hermit, but hopefully you won't be a hermit forever.

  "Why? Is Mr. Prince Charming going to whisk me away?"

  "I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered by that comment."

  "Why would you be flattered?"

  "You think of me as Prince Charming?"

  Stiles could feel the heat race to his face at that moment. He sat up and smacked Derek with the pillow he hadn't been laying on. "That's not what I meant, and you know it! How do you know if I was even talking about you! I could be talking about it metaphorically!"

  "But why a prince? Are you more into princes than princesses?"

  "I was making fun of all those stupid stories! I was being cynical!"

  "Right, ok," Derek said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes, "it's totally ok if you are into princes. I won't judge."

  "At least my fiance isn't trying to kill me!"

  "Hey, I don't see any girls knocking on your door. If I didn't know any better I'd say you've never even been with a girl."

  Stiles opened his mouth to argue but froze. He stuttered out a few words but nothing really coherent or complete left his lips. Now he was all flustered and it was all that asshole's fault. The asshole who was staring at him with those enchanting eyes. No, no, Stiles he's an asshole, just an asshole!

  "What?" Derek asked him and he could feel his face reddening, "oh my god."

  "Shut up!"

  "You've never been with a girl? Have you been with anyone?"

  "I said shut up!"

  "Oh, that's rich! How old are you? Sixteen?"

  "For your information, I'm eighteen, and I'm just looking for the right one!"

  "Right, ok sure! Eighteen! That's even worse!"

  "We are done talking about this!" Stiles yelled as he lay back down and pulled the covers over his head. He has never been so embarrassed in his life and turned his back on the other so he wouldn't see his reddening face.

  "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you so uncomfortable. It's just kind of shocking," Derek said and Stiles heard some shuffling.

  "Why? You just said you expected it," Stiles grumbled.

  "I was only kidding. I didn't actually think it was true, Stiles."

  "Whatever."

  "Come on, a guy like you should have some type relationship, right?"

  "Yea, not here."

  "Well, it's a small village! You'll find someone. Don't worry," Derek said as he got under the covers, "good night, Stiles."

  "Fuck you."

  "Well, I'm not really sure you'd want me to be your first. I'm a lot to liv-"

  "Oh my god, shut up! Just, stop talking!"

  "Hey you open the door, I'm going to shut it."

  "You're so annoying," Stiles mumbled. He could hear the other chuckle before he heard him blow out the lantern. He doesn't remember there being a lit lantern, but it made sense since the room was illuminated in the middle of the night. He didn't actually fall asleep for a while. After a long time passed he could hear shifting next to him and felt the heat of the other man grow closer. For some odd reason, the warmth really helped him sleep, and for once, it was an undisturbed slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the early chapter I said I'd get up! How do you like it? Well I might not be able to get the next ch.out by Tuesday because, I will be at a convention all weekend. I was actually debatin whether to post this because I might not have time, but I think that if I try hard enough, I'll get it done! Hope you enjoyed this Chapter! OF THERE ARE ANY ERRORS PLEASE TELL ME! Tell me what you think so far!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Derek's POV

  Derek woke early in the morning. The sun was shining through the window, and all the blankets had been stolen away from him. The thief had somehow cocooned himself in the them and was snoring softly, which indicated he was most likely asleep, and that was a good thing. Derek wanted to talk to Allison before he woke. He was afraid the younger wouldn't be able to handle the conversation that well, since he had such a violent reaction the prior night.

  He carefully sat up and put on his shoes, trying very hard to avoid waking the other. Once he got them on he slowly got up and walked to the bags he had left on the desk. He pulled out and put on a shirt before walking to the door, but, right as he was about to open the door himself, it swung open to reveal a surprised Allison standing in front of him. She peered around the door towards the bed, and then looked back at Derek.

  "Is he still asleep?" she asked in a hushed tone.

  "I'm fairly certain he is," Derek whispered back as he looked over at the resting lump on the bed, "I didn't want to wake him." When Derek faced Allison again she was grinning at him, like she knew something he didn't. "What?"

  "Oh, nothing," she said quietly, "let's talk somewhere more private, ok?"

  Derek nodded before he followed her out the door and carefully shut it. Allison lead him to a room a little further down the hall from his own and shut the door once she saw Derek was inside. There was a long moment of silence before Allison turned to sit on the bed. Derek wasn't sure whether or not he should speak first or not. He didn't really want to break the ice, actually.

  "I think Stiles is right," Allison started and sighed, "she went on a hunting trip a few weeks ago but didn't return. Well, not before I left, anyways. I guess it should have been a little suspicious that she left around the same time you had said you would be in No Man's Land, but she never said she was going there, so none of us really thought about it."

  "Do you think she'd come here?"

  "I don't know. She probably wanted to do it in No Man's Land because, it wasn't on either territory, and there'd be no way to really pin it on her, but if she crosses into your territory, then that will be a huge problem."

  "Stiles is worried she'll hurt one of you," Derek explained, "I really don't want that to happen."

  "You mean, you really don't want that to happen to, Stiles, right?" Allison said, she had her lip curved upward on one side that form a ,some what, lopsided smile, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

  "Well it would be bad if he got hurt yes bu-"

  "But everyone matters, right? See, you say that, but from what I've noticed, you're a bit more protective over him."

  "He saved my life, and I promised to keep him safe."

  "Yea, you promised him, not us. I get the feeling that you aren't here just because of a promise."

  "We are talking about, Kate here, Allison. Why are you bringing this up now?"

  "Alright, fine. Do you even like my aunt, or rather did you, since now she's trying to kill you."

  "You won't be offended?"

  "No, I'm not really a big fan of her's either."

  "Ok, good because I, literally, have never hated someone, so much. She's extremely condescending and treats anyone bellow her in the hierarchy like shit. That's not how a proper queen should rule a kingdom. If you rule on fear alone, there will be an uprising, and then you're putting brothers against each other. That's just not right."

  "Wow, ok, didn't expect the whole speech there."

  "Too far? Did I offend you?"

  "No, no, I agree, I just didn't think the royal family of Wulfhli believed in the whole, do good onto others, thing."

  "I do. My father doesn't seem to agree."

  "When I return home, I will inform my father of Kate's treachery, but you have to keep a low profile until then, alright?"

  "Damn, I was planning on slaying a dragon here, Allison."

  "Is that sarcasm? The last time I met you, you were a fricken stick in the mud. What happened?"

  "This is serious, Allison. This is what starts wars. I do not want my people to be subject to death and loss if I can prevent it."

  "You think I don't? I don't want war, but how are we going to deal with this? If Kate kills you, there will be a war. If you kill Kate, there will be a war. If you hurt Kate, even while trying to defend yourself or others, there will be war."

  "I just have to get my father to-"

  "To what, tell my grandfather that his daughter is trying to kill you?"

  "No, I would tell him I don't want to marry her." 

  "Do you really think either Kung is going to accept that statement without a reason, Derek? I'm pretty sure my grandfather would be extremely insulted. I'll just tell my dad. He'll understand."

  "How do you know? You're accusing his sister!" Derek half yelled. He listened closely to hear whether or not anyone had woken up. There were definitely footsteps coming towards where they were, but they probably aren't too close. Derek turned towards the bedroom door then back at Allison. "I should go. We'll figure out some way to deal with Kate, later."

  Allison gave Derek a confused look, before he left the room and quickly made his way to where he was staying. He didn't make it inside, though. "Derek, you're up early," Melissa stated as she rounded the corner, "I heard yelling, is Stiles ok?"

  "He's sleeping," Derek said a little too quickly.

  Melissa gave him a wary look before moving around him, opening the door, and peering inside the room to check on Stiles. Derek could hear Stiles' soft snores now that the door was open, which meant he was still sound asleep. Melissa pursed her lips slightly and glanced over at Derek before closing the door. "So, why did I hear yelling?"

  "Maybe it was some villagers yelling outside."

  "Uh-huh, ok." Derek could tell she wasn't convinced. She had her eyes narrowed as she walked back in the direction of the kitchen and managed to keep them on him the entire time. Was that a mother thing? His mom did it as well, and it always put him on edge. He didn't understand how moms could have their back turned to you and never break eye contact, without a single step faltering. 

  Once she rounded the corner and was out of sight, Derek let out a heavy sigh of relief. He debated for a moment whether or not to go back into his room, but decided he'd better not. He could risk waking the young mage, and something tells him that he doesn't get that much sleep to begin with. He headed towards the kitchen, deciding that it would be best to help out Melissa as much as he could. If he could gain her trust it wouldn't be so awkward, and it would, most likely,make Stiles happy. He didn't know why that was so important to him.

  As he made his way to the kitchen he realized that someone else was in there. It was most likely that Scott boy that was dating Allison. It really couldn't have been anyone else, unless there was another person who lived in this home, but there wasn't any indication of another person living there. He walked in and saw Scott sitting at the table, just like he thought he would. He looked like he was half asleep, with his head on the table, and hands in his lap. He was obviously not ready for the day to start.

  "You're not Stiles," Scott said tiredly as he lifted his head slightly, "where's Stiles?"

  "He's still asleep," Derek replied as he sat down across from the other.

  "What? Mom! You said we had stuff to do today! Why does he get to sleep in, and I have to wake up early? That's not fair!" Scott whined and seemed much more awake than previously shown.

  "Scott, you know he has trouble sleeping. I want him to get as much sleep as possible! Who knows how long it'll be till he has a nice night's sleep,"Melissa explained, "did he wake up at all last night, Derek?"

  "Not that I know of ma'am," he said politely, "I could assist with some chores, if you'd like."

  "Oh you don't have to do that," Melissa said as she waved him off.

  "Yes he does! He's staying here for free! He'd might as well chip in!" Scott insisted.

  "Really, ma'am, I wouldn't mind. It's the least I could do."

  "Alright, well, I would really appreciate it if you accompanied Scott to the market. He needs to get me some herbs, and such, for new medicine. While he does that you can get some food for lunch, dinner, and tomorrow's breakfast."

  "You want me to go somewhere alone with you're son? Well, I'm assuming he's you're son."

  "I'm not worried. Scott can defend himslef."

  "Alright, then that's no problem, ma'am. Do you have a list of what you want me to purchase, or a dish in mind that I should shop for?"

  "Carrots, lettuce, some chicken, celery, eggs, bread, oh, and, while you're at the baker's for some bread, ask if he has any pies."

  "Pies?" Derek questioned.

  "Yes, I get them for a low price."

  "Are they cheaper here?"

  "No, I'm the physician here. I helped out the baker's family on many occasions."

  "So you are payed in pies?" Derek asked with a small laugh.

  "Sometimes, if a patient can't afford my care, then they can find another way to repay me."

  "That's kind of you."

  "Ok, but mom you want to leave me alone with the knight? They have a code for dickhood, which means they're huge dicks!" Scott butted in, "oh, but no offense."

  "First off, it's the code of chivalry, second, I took much offense to that."

  "OK, then all the offense. The point is, I don't want to be alone with this guy. Allison, should come."

  "Oh, I see what you want," Melissa responded and rolled her eyes, "you just want to spend alone time with your girlfriend. You're going with Derek."

  "What is Stiles going to do?"

  "When he wakes up, Scott, he'll help with some chores around the house."

  "Does he have nightmares regularly?" Derek asked curiously. He remembered over hearing Stiles telling these two that he wakes up screaming. He witnessed the boy wake up screaming before, so, does that mean these nightmares are a regular thing? Does he always have such gruesome dreams? How long has it been since he's had a good night's sleep?

  "They're not always nightmares," Scott said with a shrug.

  "Scott!" Melissa yelled.

  "What? The guy already knows about Stiles. He's probably already witnessed it. I know for a fact Stiles muted the room. He does it every time he stays over night."

  "What else could it have been?"

  "A vision of some sort. They can be from the past, present, or future, usually involving people who were, are, and will be close or important to him. Sometimes he sees through someone else's eyes. Those are usually the worst."  
  "It is a wonder how Stiles hasn't been caught seen as that you and Stiles  have the biggest mouths in the world!" Melissa yelled.

  "Why?"  
   
  "Why what?" Scott questioned.

  "Why are the seeing through the eyes visions the worst?"

  "Because he can feel their pain and emotions that way," Scott explained as he sat up more.

  "I'll never forget the one he had the night his mother died. I've never heard someone screaming in that much pain."

  "What was the vision of?"

  "We're not sure. He shuts down whenever we try asking him about it," Melissa answered, "do you want breakfast?"

  "He shuts down? Does he tell you about any of those visions?" 

  "He does, when it involves us. Is that a no on breakfast?"

  "Oh, no, I'd love breakfast, thank you," Derek said. Stiles wasn't the only one that knew how to shut down when too many questions were being asked. Scott had already stopped replying, and Melissa had already started changing the subject. 

  "After breakfast you two need to head out. I need those groceries."

  "Mom! Why can't I sleep in today!" 

  "Nope, too late for that, sweetie, you're already awake, aren't you?"

  "This stinks. I can't even spend time with Allison."

  "To be fair, Scott, she did travel a long way to get here last night. She must be tired," Derek explained. He didn't know if she was actually tired or not, but she was currently trying to think of a way to stop her aunt from starting a war, so, he figured she might need time to think.

  "Yeah I know," Scott said pouting as he lay his head down on his arms, "I wish she didn't have to travel so far. We wouldn't have to wait so long to spend time together."

  "Here's breakfast boys. Eggs and toast," Melissa said as she put the two plates down in front of the males, "now do you want me to write you a list of all that I need?"

  "Thank you for the food, ma'am. A list would be great," Derek said politely before he began eating.

  Breakfast was quiet once they started eating. It didn't take to long to finish the food, but they had to wait a little longer for Melissa to finish the list. There were a lot more things that she wanted than what she had listed before. Maybe those extra things were the names of the herbs she needed. Melissa put the list down on the table, but before Derek could grab it Scott had it in his hands already and was heading out the door. Derek followed him and looked over his shoulder at the list.

  "I'll go get the herbs while you get the food, ok, Derek?"

  "No problem," he mumbled as Scott ripped the list in half and handed one piece to Derek. He looked back at the cottage, and could see movement in the window to the room he was staying in. Stiles probably just woke up, hopefully it wasn't from a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, I know I'm like super late with this update! I'll try and get the next one on time for Tuesday this time! Next chapter Stiles is going to be talking to Allison and Melissa a lot, and by that I mean *hint, hint* Stiles feels "sick" but we all know the reality. So what will Melissa and even Allison say about his "illness"? Tell me what you all think of this Chapter and the story so far!!! INFORM ME OF ANY ERRORS I HAVE MADE!!!!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles doesn't know who's side Allison is on anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stiles' POV

  Stiles was sweating, and it was gross. He was wrapped up in these thick blankets like a caterpillar. Honestly, he wanted nothing more than to break free of his blanket prison. He twisted and turned, trying to unravel himself, but all he succeeded in doing was falling of the bed and hitting the floor with an audible thump. It was then, as he groaned in pain and freed himself, he realized that the room was empty.

  Confusion. Stiles was full of confusion. Why was he full of confusion? Because he was fairly certain he fell asleep next to a moderately (nope) attractive man, and he was no longer there. His cloths are on the floor, which means he changed, in front of Stiles. Well, he was asleep, but Derek still stripped (oh god) in his presence.

  Why does the thought of that make his stomach flip, and his face burn? Maybe he was getting sick. No doubt, it was from going out in that storm. He should probably talk to Melissa about this. He should probably find out if Derek was ok too. He got up, off the ground, and rubbed the back of his head as he yawned. 

  He really did sleep well the prior night. It was nice feeling this, how could he say this? Awake? Energetic? No, neither of those work very well. Maybe just, Well rested, kind of like he's been sleeping for days. He walked over to the bags and pulled out a change of clothes. Once he had changed he grabbed both, his and Derek's cloths off the floor and headed towards the kitchen, where the beautiful aroma of food was emanating from.

  When he entered the kitchen and saw Melissa with her back turned, he held the clothes up higher. "Where do you want me to put these?" he asked and watched as she jumped with a short scream that kind of made Stiles flinch.

  "Stiles! You scared the day lights out of me!" she yelled as she turned around and glared at him.

  "Is it bad that I'm more amused than remorseful for scaring you?"

  "Good morning to you too, Stiles," Melissa said as she rolled her eyes and turned back to, what Stiles now realized, was cooking eggs,"put the clothes in the basket by the door. I'm doing laundry today."

  Stiles walked to the front door and dropped the clothes in his hands onto a pile of dirty laundry, Stiles hoped was the basket, before walking back into the kitchen and taking a seat. "Do you want any help with the laundry? I'll be happy to assist with anything you need."

  "Actually, I was going to send you to go food shopping for me, with Scott."

  "Oh, is Scott not up? Do you want me to wake him?"

  "He left already."

  "O-oh," Stiles stuttered out, "by himself?" Derek was still missing, maybe he left with Scott. Every other scenario Stiles was thinking of right now ended with blood, guts, and death, which was not an idea he wanted to proliferate.

  "Why? Are you worried?"

  "What? No,no, I just- it's nothin," Stiles mumbled and bit his lip. He can feel that familiar pressure in his chest and the static working at his nerves. Why would Derek just leave? He wouldn't do that, there had to be a reason, right? Why did it hurt so much to think about him, just, leaving? "Derek didn't come by?"

  "Oh, that's what you're so worried about," Melissa said as a smirk began to tug at the corner of her lip, "he's with Scott. He said you were asleep, which is quite rare for you Stiles. Did you have any interruptions while you slept?"

  "No, actually, I slept rather soundly, in fact, it was the best sleep I've had in ages."

  "That's great! You're sure you're not sick or anything?"

  "Why would he be sick?" that voice almost caused Stiles to jump straight out of his skin. Karma really is quite the bitch, isn't she? Allison sat down next Stiles and raised an eyebrow at him. Could she really be out to kill Derek?

  "Well, from what Scott said, you went out in the middle of that huge storm that hit a few days ago."

  "Remind me never to trust Scott with anything," Stiles mumbled, "I'm fine. Well, sometimes I do feel kind of sick, but it's not like normal sick. The kind of sick when I get nervous, but nicer? I don't know if that makes sense at all."

  "Symptoms, Stiles," Melissa demanded as she slid the eggs she had been cooking onto two separate plates, before presenting them to both Allison and Stiles, who thanked her.

  "Like, I get this bubbling feeling in my stomach, my hands get kind of clammy, my pulse races, and my face heats up, but I don't hate the feeling, you know? It's weird."

  "Let me guess, you only feel this way around, Lydia?" Melissa asked.

  "Not like this, and I haven't seen her in ages."

  "You wouldn't happen to get this way around Derek, would you?" Allison asked, sporting one of her signature 'I can see into your soul' smiles.

  "I mean, I guess it usually occurs around him, but he's not always around when I get that way."

  "Oh my God," Melissa said ominously, "you've got it bad."

  "Got what bad?" Stiles asked with caution.

  "This might actually kill him," Allison added in, which was definitely not helping him sooth the panic that was rising inside of his chest.

  "Kill me! What's wrong with me? What is it?"

  "Stiles, I'm so sorry," Allison whispered as she gently places her hand on his shoulder.

  "Why are you sorry? Someone please tell me what's wrong!"

  "I'm afraid you have, what we physicians call, a crush," Melissa explained with a small grin.  
  "It appears you like the knight in not so shining armor," Allison added in as she wiggled her eyebrows and bumped Stiles.  
  "You're both jerks," Stiles stated before he started cutting up his eggs, "I actually thought I was dying or something."

  "Stiles, do you like Derek?" Allison asked. She sounded a bit worried, like she really hoped that wasn't the case, which it WAS NOT. Definitely not the case.

  "Hell no! He's literally everything I despise!"

  "On the outside," Melissa stated.

  "What?" Stiles questioned. What was that supposed to mean? He was the son of one of the cruelest people to have ever ruled a kingdom. Of course Stiles hated him.

  "His personality, who he really is, it differs from that of any other knight. He isn't condescending, or hateful. He's very careful when you're around. That could mean that he's using you, but I don't think he's the type of guy to use people," Melissa explained, but was that true? What did she mean by careful? He wasn't careful. She made it sound like he was walking on egg shells. Last night he was relaxed and even teased him. That doesn't sound like careful, does it?

  "With all due respect, Mrs. McCall, but Derek is only careful around us, not Stiles."

  "Thank you, Allison," Stiles agreed as gestured to her. He rests his case.

  "Don't thank me. That just proves Melissa's point, and may show that he likes you. Maybe not in the same way you like him, but he's definitely fond of you and very protective."

  "Protective? He's not protective."

  "He growled at me last night, Stiles."

  "What! He growled at you!" Melissa yelled angrily.

  "I got Stiles worked up, in a bad way and Derek wanted me to back off, so he growled at me."

  "What do you mean you got him worked up?"

  "It was nothing! I just panicked a little bit! I was fine!"

  "Panicked? You mean you had a panic attack? Why didn't you tell me! Stiles you're supposed to tell me when you get those!"

  "Melissa, I swear Derek had it under control!" 

  "How is that supposed to make me feel better, Stiles!"

  "Well, he did an excellent job of calming him down," Allison added in.

  "He was probably the one that caused it!"

  "What? No, no he didn't start it! I worked myself up over highly improbable scenarios that had frightened me! I was worried about his safety, well, his and everyone else's. He wasn't at fault, I swear!"

  "Why were you worried about our safety, Stiles?"

  Stiles looked towards Allison with a hesitant expression. He couldn't exactly tell the truth, but maybe he could dance around it? She won't catch on, so long as he doesn't think he's lying. If that doesn't work then Allison is going to have to tell Melissa the truth, which results in him telling her about Derek. There's no telling what will happen then. 

  "Th-there was a woman who broke into my house. She was trying to kill the pri-um, knights. I don't know why, but she may come after Derek and try to kill him here. I freaked myself out over it," Stiles explained, but he lied. He knows it. Which, probably means she knows it too.

  "Did the woman follow you?" Melissa asked. She didn't sound suspicious, but she did sound concerned.

  "Well, no, I kind of, well, I cursed he-"

  "You cursed her! Stiles!"

  "What was I supposed to do! She was in my house! I had to get her to leaving!"

  "You never told me you cursed her!" Alison yelled.

  "I didn't really have a choic-"

  "You did have a choice, but you chose to make the wrong one! You were taught better than that!"

  "Would you rather me have died! Do you know what would have happened if I didn't curse her? She would have found evidence that I was hording Derek and stayed! She would sit there and wait for us! I'd have to get out eventually! What do you think would have happened when she saw me!"

  "Ok, ok, Stiles, breathe. It's ok, don't worry honey," Melissa said quietly as she rubbed Stiles' back. He hadn't even realized he was starting to hyperventilate, and he could feel a lump in his throat.

  "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

  "No, Stiles it's fine, but only as a last resort, ok, sweetie?"

  "Yea, last resort," Stiles trailed off and looked down at his lap.

  "How long will the curse last?" Allison asked a bit warily.

  "It's gone by now. I'm not good with curses. My reluctance to use them makes it hard to cast them."

  "How did you even learn any curses?" Melissa asked in a confused tone.

  "My mom had a few spell books that spoke about older magic. She probably had them for healing spells, but they had curses written in them as well. When I found them all I could think about was how they could protect me and my dad. So I used them. I'm sorry, I just-I don't want to lose anybody."

  "I know sweetie, just be careful with spells like that. People could get the wrong idea about you," Melissa explained, "now, what chores do you want to help me with?"

  "As many as you need."

  "How about you help me with laundry, sweetie. Maybe sweep around the house a little?"

  "Of course! Anything you need"

  "I can do the dishes if you'd like," Allison offered smiling.

  "That would be fantastic," Melissa said.

  Stiles started on his chores as soon as he finished breakfast. Usually at home he did everything, so, it was nice to only have to do a few things to do. He first started with sweeping. It was better to start the laundry in the afternoon, since it was easier to tell what the weather would be like once it was noon, and the clothes dry faster, thanks to the fact that the sun is at it's peak by then.

  Melissa was still washing the clothes when Stiles had finished sweeping, which meant he couldn't hang them up, so he went into the kitchen to help Allison. She probably didn't realize how many dishes there would be. He knows for a fact Melissa makes a meal for anyone who comes over to her house. It didn't matter whether or not they were a patient, if they were hungry she was going to feed them. Money for her wasn't exactly an issue, not that she had a lot, but most of the other villagers either owed her, or they just do it because they know she would do it for them.

  "Allison," Stiles said as he walked up next to her, "you wash, I dry?"

  "That would be great, actually, where do all these dishes even come from?" She asked as she waved one plate in front of his face for emphasis.

  Stiles grabbed a towel and shrugged. He honestly didn't know. Every time he came here there would be a new dish, or cup, or bowl. "Maybe people just started coming with their own plates. Melissa makes food for everyone, you know. Who knows how many people she cooked for yesterday."

  "She's such a great person. It's hard to find people like that. My physician won't see anyone, unless they pay in advance. Ridiculous, right?"

  "Yea, I mean people around here don't make all that much. If they need services right away, it should be given. You can hound them for cash afterwards, just help them first." 

  "Yea," Allison trailed off as she handed Stiles the wet plates so he could dry them, "hey, you don't think I'm in cahoots with my aunt, do you?"

  Stiles paused for a moment. Did he actually think that, or was he just being paranoid? The only evidence he had that led to her involvement is that they're related. In all honesty, his accusations were probably a result of his panicked state of mind. He's known her for a while, and she's never harmed anyone, let alone him or Derek. 

  "No, I don't think that. I'm sorry for accusing you. I should have known better, huh?"

  "No, I mean, I understand the accusations, but I'm glad you don't think I'd hurt any of you."

  "If you wanted to hurt me, you would've done it already, Allison."

  "Same with Derek you know."

  "Well yea, but he'd be a harder target, what with his super werewolf senses and all," Stiles joked with a small grin.

  "That's not what I meant, Stiles. The punishment for the use of magic is death. He could have killed you."

  "I don't know if you're trying to scold me or comfort me," Stiles said with a raised eyebrow as he finished drying the last dish.

  "Why didn't you kill him when you had the chance? Better yet, why help him at all?"

  "Woah, getting a little dark there, Allison! Where is this coming from? I thought you were against killing, Derek?"

   "I thought you were all for the death of the royal family."

  "I couldn't just leave him out there, Allison! He's a person too, you know!"

  "He's a Hale. The Hales had your mother killed."

  "A name doesn't make a person!"

  "How can you be so sure, Stiles? He could just be using you."

  "You're wrong, Allison!"

  "Do you really believe that?"

  "Stop it!" Stiles demanded as he slammed his hands on the counter and squeezed his eyes shut. He needed her to stop. Stop talking. Stop poking holes. All he wanted was for her to stop. He can feel something building inside of him, ready to explode. She was wrong. She was wrong. She was wrong!

  "What do you think he's going to do when he leaves? He knows where you live. He can lead the king right to yo-"

  "SHUT UP!" Stiles screamed before one of the dishes went flying towards Allison. The loud crash caused him to look up towards her. She was crouched slightly and wearing a shocked expression. Stiles' focus moved to the shattered dish on the floor behind her, then to the dent in the wall right where her head would have been. Did he do that? He couldn't have. He didn't recite any spells. Stiles looked behind him to see if someone else could have thrown it, but there was no one. Just this receding energy in the pit of his stomach. 

  "I-I didn't mean to- I swear I didn't-" Stiles stuttered out as he stepped back, away from Allison.

  "Stiles, it's fine. I know you didn't-" Allison was cut off when she tried reaching for Stiles, and he just, moved further away. His eyes were blown wide and his breathing was shakey. She couldn't tell who he was really scared of, her or himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Yeah, it's been a while, but I wanted to get back on track with updating on Tuesdays so I waited till today to post this! Don't worry Allison is not going to be some villian. She did all the questioning for a reason so no one yet upset. OK, so Stiles lost control there, and the reason for that is, he wasn't properly trained for when his magic increases in power, which makes it harder to control. I'll explain more next chapter! What did you guys think? COMMENT and tell me your thoughts, and INFORM ME OF ANY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek is confronted by Stiles in regard to Allison's accusations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Derek's POV

  Derek was extremely uncomfortable. Throughout the entirety of their trip to the market, Scott kept stopping and talking, but he never said a single word to Derek. He ignored the fact he was there. He can't even put into words how relieved he was when they finally made it back to the cottage late into the afternoon and saw Stiles outside hanging clothing out to dry. He'd rather Stiles' continuous talking than this uncomfortable silence.

  Derek noticed that Stiles seemed a bit distressed. His brow was furrowed, heart beating irregularly, and he wasn't just biting his lip, he was practically gnawing on it. He approached the boy slowly and put the bags of food he was holding down on the ground. He reeked of anxiety. "Is everything alright?" Derek asked softly, but even in the gentlest of tones the boy jumped. He looked at Derek with wide, wild eyes, before breathing a sigh of relief and hugging the fabric in his hands to his chest.

  "Jesus Christ, Derek, you scared the shit out of me," Stiles breathed out. The smell of anxiety was starting to fade out of focus as relief flooded over the young mage, relief and something else. Derek couldn't quite pinpoint the underlying scent that remained faint.

  "Are you alright? You seem a bit agitated and jumpy," Derek asked, his voice full of concern, "did something happen?"

  "No, I'm fine. Nothing happened," Stiles answered, but Derek didn't even need to hear the skip in his beating heart. His voice wavered and he wouldn't even make eye contact. Usually Stiles was better at lying than this.

  "Don't lie to me, Stiles."

  "I have to finish with the laundry, Der, I promised Melissa I'd finish it," Stiles said before he continued hanging up the laundry.

  Derek narrowed his eyes at the boy. He was avoiding the conversation, but Derek wasn't going to have any of that. He walked over to the basket and started hanging up some clothes as well. Stiles didn't notice at first, but when he did, he frowned at him.

  "What are you doing?" Stiles asked with his arms crossed.

  "Helping you finish up here."

  "Why? I can do it myself, you know."

  "I know you can, but you're using this as an excuse not to tell me what's wrong. If I take away the excuse then you'll have to talk to me."

  "I-I can't tell you out here, someone could over hear," Stiles stuttered out. 

  "Then when we're done we'll go inside, and into our room."

  "Thhhhee," Stiles looked around for another excuse, "the food! In the bag, I mean. You need to bring that inside."

  "Seriously? The kitchen is on the way to your room."

  "Why do you care so much?"

  That question caught Derek completely off guard. Why did he care so much? He just met this kid, but, to be fair, he did save his life. He was also protecting him and had taken him in, despite his obvious hatred for his family. Maybe that's why he cared. This boy had already done so much for him, it's only fair, right? "I was under the assumption that we were allies here, Stiles."

  "Allies? What's that even mean?" he was being hostile again. 

  "I'm confused, did I do something to upset you?"

  "Aren't you healed by now? Why are you sticking around if you don't need to?" 

  "What?"

  "Why are you still here?" Stiles asked him with his fists clamped shut at his sides. 

  "I said I'd help you, Stiles, and that's what I'm doing. I just want to make sure you're ok. I don't want Kate coming after you. Stiles, tell me what happened."

  "Allison told me you're using me to get home so you can come back and have me killed."

  "Stiles, if I wanted you dead, I would have killed you already," Derek said and watched as Stiles brow relaxed. He looked down at his feet and loosened his hands.

  "That's probably true," Stiles mumbled and shifted his weight to his right foot then to his left, swaying slightly, "sorry."

  Derek narrowed his eyes at the other and gave him a once over. That wasn't what had really put him on edge, well, it might have been part of it, but Stiles was still on a nervous wreck. Derek was pretty sure that the whole Allison thing was just him avoiding the real problem again, but why would Allison tell Stiles that in the first place? Why wouldn't Stiles tell him the truth?

  Derek watched as Stiles awkwardly started hanging up laundry again. The silence was unnerving, especially with all the shifty glances he was getting from Stiles. Derek of course started to assist him, once again, with the task of clipping wet clothes to a wire, so he would complete the task faster. 

  "I almost hit Allison with a plate today," Stiles whispered as he shifted from side to side awkwardly.

  "Well, if someone told me I was being used only to be killed later I'd definitely hit them."

  "No. No. It was different, Derek. I had no control over it!"

  Derek ran his hand up and down Stiles' spine, to help sooth himbefore speaking in a very quiet tone, "what happened, Stiles."

  "She kept asking all these questions, kept saying you could just be using me and then she brought up my mother, and all I wanted was for her to shut up, to just stop, and let me enjoy it," Stiles stuttered, his voice shaking before cracking when he mentioned his mother, "I don't know what happened, all the sudden, this dish just went flying at her and shattered against the wall- I didn't even say anything, well I didn't say a spell. I couldn't control it."

  Derek listened intently to what Stiles was saying. Honestly, he was extremely pissed off that Allison did that. How could she do that to Stiles. Bringing his mother into it was beyond low. "I am not using you, Stiles, you know that, right?" Derek asked in a low voice.

  "I love that you somehow managed to make this conversation about you."

  "What?" and suddenly Derek wasn't as pissed anymore.

  "I know you're not using me, dumbass, what I'm flipping tables over is that the plate almost hit Allison. I could have really hurt her, Derek!"

  "You want me to worry about whether or not you hurt someone who accuses me of using you?"

  "What? No that's not the point!"

  "You lost me."

  "What if it was someone else!"

  "I'm fairly certain that no one else would have pushed you to a point where you no longer had control over your magic."

  "Stop being a smart ass that's my thing," Stiles said as he narrowed his eyes at Derek, but he didn't really care about that. What Derek was focused on was the fact that the boy's heartbeat had slowed significantly, and he no longer seemed as nervous as he was before. "Don't you have groceries to bring in?" 

  "If I go in with out you, your friend is going to come out here and try to talk to you about all your problems an-"

  "You just want me to bring them inside."

  "This is also true," Derek said with a small grin as Stiles rolled his eyes and picked up the bags and started heading inside with him, "we can practice some of that Latin if you'd like. The more you learn the better your control will be."

  "Not sure if that's how it works, but alright."

  "Trust me, Stiles, I promised to help you and that's what I'm doing," Derek said as he held the door open for the younger boy.

  "You never promised to help me. You said you'd teach me Latin so I can use the spells from that spell book I told you about," Stiles said, rolling his eyes again, before heading into the kitchen, "laundry is all hung up Melissa!"

  "Thank you," Melissa sang and walked into the kitchen from behind Derek, "oh, and you have the groceries! Just set them down on the counter, hun."

  Stiles set the groceries down where he was told while Melissa came in and started sorting through the bags. "Need any help?" he asked, but he didn't really seem like he wanted to help. He was already backing up, towards the room.

  "No, I can handle it. I'll call you if I need anything," Melissa said smiling widely as she shooed him away. 

  Derek followed Stiles back to the room they were staying in. When Stiles entered the room he went straight to his bags and started shifting through them. Derek walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder as he searched through the first bag. "What are you looking for?" 

  "The spell book written in Latin. Didn't you want to start teaching me how to say the spells?"

  "You put it in the other bag, Stiles. Well, at least you put a lot of books in the other bag."

  "Really?" Stiles asked as he started shifting through the second bag, "oh! Here it is!" He pulled out a large leather book with the imprint of a leafless tree  and something written on the cover. He brought it over to Derek and handed it to him without taking his eyes off the book itself. "It's nice, right?"

  Derek flipped it over in his hands and noticed it had a latch that kept it closed, but no key hole. He tried to pull the latch off, but it wouldn't budge. "How do you open it?"

  "I have no idea," Stiles said with a shrug before pointing to the writing, "well, actually I do have an idea. I think this writing here is the key. I'm pretty sure it's in Latin, which is why I assumed the book was in Latin."

  "Wait, you've never seen the inside of this?" Derek asked as he held up the book.

  "Nope, is it in Latin, or what?"

  Derek rolled his eyes and turned the book so he could read the cover, "Tibi petere arcana revelare," he read.

  "What?"

  "You have to ask to reveal secrets."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "I remember you being clever at some point," Derek said, smirking slightly as Stiles narrowed his eyes at him, "you just need to ask the book to open."

  "How do I say please open?"

  "Please? It's a book!"

  "That doesn't mean I shouldn't be polite, Derek."

  "Potest placet aperire."

  "Botes de vlacha de piauuu."

  "What the hell was that?"

  "That's what you said!"

  "You completely butchered that entire sentence," Derek said laughing.

  "No way! I repeated exactly what you said!"

  "No, no, listen. Po- like bow but with a P; test- the T at the end sounds like de so Potest, poe-tes-de."

  "Poe-tes-de, Potest."

  "Good, Potest placet; placet, pla-se-de."

  "Pla-se-de. Potest placet."

  "Apeer- eer-e, aperire."

  "Potest placet apeer-er- e?"

  "Apeer-eer-e," Derek repeated, but put more emphasis on each sound.

  "Potest placet aperire?"

  "Perfect!"

  Stiles nodded eagerly and held out his hand over the book as he closed his eyes. "Potest placet aperire," he said before the latch started to glow. It spread in streaks and formed into a tree similar to the one on the cover. The latch popped off, and the cover flew open. Stiles looked up at Derek, practical bouncing in excitement. He quickly turned to the desk and set the book down before flipping through the pages. "Wait, what the-" he mumbled as his eyes narrowed. Derek looked over his shoulder and realized that every page Stiles flipped through in the entire book was completely blank. "God dammit!! You have got to be kidding me!" Stiles yelled, but all Derek could do was laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Lydia would do this kind of thing to Stiles. Give him a book he can't open, and then he finally opens it, only to realize that it's completely blank! Don't worry though. It's not actually blank. I'm sorry this is a tad late guys, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!! PLEASE COMMENT what you thought! INFORM ME OF ANY ERRORS I HAVE MADE. Thanks guys!!!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bickering like a married couple with Derek is strangely comforting for Stiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY GUYS ITS LITERALLY ALMOST BEEN A YEAR BUT HERE'S CHAPTER 13!!! I've been slowly working on this the entire time!!! Sorry for such the long wait though! I love you guys!

  Stiles was absolutely livid. How could Lydia give him a blank spell book that he couldn't even open. This was just like her! Why couldn't she just give him a normal present that didn't take a hundred plus years to figure out! Like maybe ink for his quill or something!

"Why does she hate me so much! I don't understand what her problem is!" Stiles yelled angrily.

  "Maybe it's a journal. No one will be able to open it and read your secrets," Derek offered, but Stiles really wasn't feeling the whole 'make a bad situation good' thing.

  "Don't take her side!"

  "I'm not! I'm just saying, it's a good idea!"

  "She should've explained how to open it!"

  "Hey, you got it open right? You learned some latin, even if you completely butchered it."

  Stiles glared at Derek and pouted slightly. "You said I got it right!" he argued.

  "I never said that. I said you were doing great."

  "Exactly! I was doing great!"

  "For a beginner, Stiles."

  "See, now, normal people would say that all together so that there wouldn't be a misunderstanding like this! You also said perfect! You purposely mislead me!"

  "Don't take your frustrations out on me, Stiles. Why are you even getting so worked up over this?"

  "Because, Derek, I was under the impression I was going to learn Latin magic, and it's the moral of the thing!"

  "First, what moral? Second, what is so special about Latin magic? It's the same thing as what you do now isn't it?"

  "No. The type of magic sorcerers have depends heavily on the earth around them. It is derived from the soil beneath your feet, and the spells created in certain regions are based heavily on what is found there and what is needed to survive. This means all different regions have different types of spells that do different things," Stiles explained as he paced around the room, "Me, for example, I am a descendant of Norse nomads. The Norse people often lived on large ships in the seas, so the sorcerers that are descendants of Norse people, or as you know them, vikings have spells that helped there ancestors survive the seas. My spell books mainly have water oriented spells."

   When Stiles turned to face Derek and continue his explanation the other had this stunned look on his face. He looked as if Stiles literally just pulled a rabbit out of his ass or something. He felt his face heat up slightly. He didn't understand why the man was staring at him like that. It was unnerving, and he really couldn't keep the eye contact going. 

  "Wh-why are you looking at me like that?" he asked as he looked down at his feet and scratched the back of his neck nervously.

  "I'm just a bit shocked that magic had so many contributing factors, nor was I aware that nature played such an important role," Derek explained as he sat down on the bed, "I was always taught that magic was unnatural and corrupt."

  "Magic is not corrupt! Man is!" Stiles yelled angrily as all the uneasiness dissipated, and he lifted his head to stare at the other with a heated glare. He hated hearing everyone say that. It was like saying he didn't belong on this earth to him. 

  "I didn't mean it like that, Stiles, I swear! I know magic doesn't make you corrupt. You've taught me that. I just didn't realize how synched it was to nature."

  "Ofcourse it's synched with nature! Where do you think it came from? You think we just shit it out?" Stiles asked, but Derek only opened and closed his mouth as he attempted, but failed to reply, "Derek!"

  "It's magic! You know, it appears like magic!"

  "I'm sorry, aren't royals supposed to be educated?"

  "Why are you getting angry with me Stiles? Why would my father allow his children to be taught something he despises?"

  "Ignorance kills. That's why."

  The sudden calm but cold tone seemed to have caught Derek off guard as he stared at Stiles in disbelief. "What do you mean by that?"

  "I know of people with no magic who have been persecuted because of ignorant, vindictive, and cruel human beings. Its like your father hears the word magic and its already a death sentence. Why even have a trial? Hell, sorcerers only know spells from their own cultures most of the time, but people are ignorant. They think we all know the same spells, but we don't. Norse don't play with emotions, Celtics don't mess with the senses, and Latins don't know how to conjure the forces of nature."

  "I'm sorry, Stiles. I can understand your frustration, but I am trying here. I want to understand and you snapping at me every time I say something wrong isn't going to help anyone. Stop using me as something to release your distain for my father on. I am not my father, Stiles."

  Now Stiles really wasn't expecting a reply like that. Had he really been doing that? Maybe he was. Derek is trying to understand. Why was he yelling at the other? He could have just explained it, but he started yelling. "People hurt people," Stiles trailed off and paused as he looked down, "daggers are tools used to kill but people owning them do not get persecuted... So why is magic any different?"

  "I don't know. People don't see magic as a tool, but, as you said, people are also very ignorant."

  "I wish they weren't," Stiles mumbled as he flopped down next to Derek on the bed. He had his arms spread wide and took up the entire bed while he sighed heavily. 

  Derek looked back at Stiles from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed and sighed as well. "So do I, but you can't control people."

  "If I were Latin I could."

  "Not comforting, Stiles."

  "Sure it is. I'm not Latin!" Stiles said with a laugh as he nudged the prince with his foot, "that's comforting enough right?"

  "I'm starting to feel pretty good about the fact that book was not a spell book right now."

  "Hey!" Stiles yelled as he propped himself up, "I'm not some evil sorcerer."

  "Are we sure about that?" Derek asked with a small smirk.

  "Maybe. I haven't really decided on whether or not I want to over throw the king or not," Stiles joked.

  "Careful. Such treachery is punishable by death. Even if it is just talk."

  "I've broken quite a few laws already, what's one more?"

  "The straw that broke the camal's back."

  "What the hell is a camal?" Stiles asked as he sat up next to Derek.

  "An animal in Arabia."

  "That place where all the trading happens right?"

  "I thought peasents were supposed to be uneducated?" 

  Stiles sat up and grinned at the other, "Derek, anyone with a permission to roam knows what Arabia is. They make their living there genius. Although, some of them are a bit denser than others. Not me though, I'm quite the intellectual."

  "I don't doubt that."

  "I feel as though you do," Stiles said as he eyed the other suspiciously.

  "Occasionally maybe. You tend to do or say something that is extremely clever and enlightening, but then you balance it out with a question like 'what the hell is a camal?'"

  "Are you telling me camals are common knowledge? Seriously, I've never heard of such a creature in my life, Derek. You probably just made it up."

  "Why would I make it up? Now you're really talking nonsense."

  "I suppose you're right. You're much too closed minded to imagine such a creature."

  "Excuse me?"

  "You're excused, your highness," Stiles mocked.

  "Wow, now you're mocking me. You know it is illegal to mock a person of the royal court."

  "Add it to the list of illegal shit I do."

  "It's becoming quite the list, Stiles. You should really be more selective."

  "Selective?" Stiles questioned with a raised eyebrow.

  "Yes, selective. You should probably stick to using magic though, I doubt you could survive without it."

  "Hey!" Stiles interjects with a mock offended tone as he playfully hit the other, "I could definitely survive without magic!"

  "Then why are you always using it?" Derek pointed out.

  "I can't help it if it makes things easier to do!"

  "What would you do if you lost your magic?"

  "I'd have to learn how to do everything without magic. No big deal. There would definitely be some tears though."

  "Tears? You would cry over losing your magic?"

  "Uh, no. Do you understand how reliant I am on magic? I'd be crying because of how fucked over I got. Seriously, I'd end up pretty messed up. Not dead, but injured. Seriously injured."

  "Didn't you just say you would survive?"

  "I wouldn't die. Not dying is surviving!"

  "Do you ever wish that you didn't have magic, Stiles."

  Stiles smile slowly fell as he looked down at his lap and pinched at the sheets. "That's a particularly sobering question," he mumbled and sighed, "we were having such a nice conversation too."

  "I didn't mean any harm. You don't have to answer. There is no shame in having magic."

  "When I was younger I hated myself for what I could do. You might not see sorcery as a shameful practice but the rest of the world does. So yea I have wished I were normal, but I have come to accept my powers."

  "I'm sorry," Derek said and placed a sympathetic hand on the other's shoulder.

  "It's just that normal seems really appealing sometimes."

  "It's also really boring."

  "Boring?" Stiles questioned with a raised eyebrow as he looked up at the other.

  "And over rated. Everyone knows what you are and what you're capable of. It really is quite a drag. It feels like the entire castle goes through the same motions every day," the wolf sighed dramatically.

  "Oh you poor thing," Stiles sarcastically as he tilted his head and pouted.

  "I know. Such a cruel fate honestly. I would much rather be hunted down."

  "Congratulations, you are being hunted!"

  "Oh, that's right!" Derek said with a small smile, "how exciting, we're like Robinhood and Maid Marian!"

  "I call being Robinhood!"

  "Stiles, you're Maid Marian."

  "Maid Marian was royalty, where as Robinhood was a kind hearted criminal. Just let me be Robinhood."

  "Do you really see me as Maid Marian, Stiles?" Derek asked with a raised eyebrow.

  "You don't have to be Maid Marian! You can be one of my Jolly men!"

  "First of all; it's Merry Men, Second; I don't even get a name?"

  "Merry, Jolly, whatever its the same definition! Why can't I be Robinhood, Derek, just let me be Robinhood!"

  "So you steal from the rich and give to the poor?"

  "Do you? Last time I checked you were the rich."

  "Touché."

  "What?"

  "Touché?"

  "Don't say it like you're the one asking the question, Derek. What does touchè mean?"

  "It's pronounced touché."

  "Not hearing a difference."

  Stiles was given some kinda of look by the older man and responded to said look by holding both his hands up like he was shrugging and mouthing 'what'. "It's a term used when we practice sword fighting to acknowledge we've been hit by our opponent," the knight replied with a sigh.

  "Wouldn't you be, I don't know, bleeding if you were struck. I mean call me crazy, but I think that should be evidence enough to know I hit you. I don't need you to tell me I cut you."

  "It's only said in practice, Stiles. We use fake swords."

  "Ok, but we're not sword fighting."

  "It's a metaphor!"

  "Don't get all irritated with me! You could've just said 'good point', but no, you had to get all fancy with the Latin."

  "It's French."

  "Close enough!"

  "They're two different languages!"

  "I'm a peasant! I'm lucky I even know how to read one language!"

  "You can read two!"

  "We never established I could read English."

  "Can you?"

  "Ofcourse!"

  "Why would you imply that you didn't!"

  "To make a point!"

  "What point?"

  "Well I don't know anymore! You messed me up!"

  "I messed you up?"

  "Yes!"

  "I don't think you had a point."

  "I did! It was a damn good point!" Stiles argued as he crossed his arms and pouted like a child, but after a moment he straightened up and looked at the door, "it's dinner time."

  "What?"

  "Dinner is ready."

  "Stiles, I'm a werewolf. I would know when food is ready."

  "I put a hex on the room dumbass," Stiles said as he walked to the door, "besides, Scott's about to prove me right."

  Stiles opened the door, and, sure enough, Scott was standing outside the door with his hand stretched towards where the knob once was. "Mom wanted me to tell you that dinner is ready," Scott said feeling like he interrupted them.

  Stiles looked at Derek with a smug expression and didn't even look back at Scott when he replied with, "Thank you Scott. We'll be out in a moment," then shut the door and crossed his arms again.

  "How did you do that?" Derek asked in shock.

  Stiles shrugged and uncrossed his arms, "I don't know. Sometimes I just know things. It's weird because it's like for a second it's actually happening but then it goes away and I'm reliving what I just witnessed."

  "So it's like déjà vu?"

  "What the hell is even coming out of your mouth?"

  "It's French. It kind of means a familiar feeling. It is used when you get the feeling that this has happened before, but people don't actually relive the moment. It's just a feeling they get as the moment is happening."

  "I mean, I guess, but I see it happening right before it does."

  "So a premonition?"

  "Oh, please don't even say something like that. I hope it's not that."

  "Why?"

  "Sorcerers who see the future, they don't turn out all that great. Sure, they start off only seeing the future a short time ahead, but then the gaps between what they see and when it happens grows longer over time. They get caught up in trying to figure out when it'll happen and how to stop it. They drive themselves to madness."

  "Well you have nothing to worry about," Derek stated before leaving the room.

  "What?" Stiles asked himself before following the other out of the room, "what was that supposed to mean?"

  "What was what supposed to mean sweetie?" Melissa asked as she poked her head into the hallway.

  Derek looked at Stiles with a questioning look as if waiting for him not to answer. "Derek just called me crazy!"

  "I did not," the knight stated before turning to Melissa, "I merely implied it."

  "Same difference!" Stiles argued. He was going to continue but paused when he saw Melissa's eyes narrow.

  "You are two grown men, and you still act like children," she said shaking her head, "I expect this from Stiles, but Derek, honey, you're supposed to be a prince. I would expect more maturity."

  "I feel like I should be offended, but I can't say that's really a lie," Stiles said with a shrug.

  "I'm sorry for my behavior Mrs. McCall," Derek said with a small bow.

  "It's alright I suppose," Melissa said a bit thrown off by the apology. She looked to Stiles expectantly as he stared at Derek in confusion. 

  When he turned his attention back to Melissa and noticed the look, he lifted his hands up in a surrender and said, "hey, don't expect that from me. You said it yourself. I lack maturity," as he slid his way past Melissa and into the kitchen.

  Melissa rolled her eyes and shook her head as she followed him into the kitchen. "One day that lack of maturity is going to get you into some major trouble, Stiles."

  "Yea, but not today!" he responded as he sat down across from Scott, "My days are numbered anyways."

  "Don't say that," Scott said, "you're going to be fine."

  "He's got a point, Scott. With his lack of control and that mouth of his he might as well be signing his name on the Grim's parchment," Allison commented.

  "I have control," Stiles stated in a serious tone that brought the cheerful conversation to a halt.

  "Anyone would faulter when their so called friend uses an emotionally scarring event against them just to insert doubt into their mind," Derek added in Stiles' defense.

  "Woah, wait a minute am I missing something?" Melissa asked with her hands on her hips, "did something happen?"

  Allison stared at Derek then at Stiles with no expression, but Stiles and Derek both glared back at her. There was a daunting silence that weighed heavily in the air before she looked back down at her food. "No, everything is fine."

  "Yea, freaking peachy," Stiles added still glaring at the girl. Something bothered him deeply about how well she could lie to Melissa's face. Well, she was either lying or truly believed she had done nothing wrong, which irritated Stiles more.

  After Derek took his seat dinner went on. The silence stretched through the entire meal and felt suffocating. It was full of tention and made both Scott and Melissa clearly uncomfortable. After dinner was all cleared up Stiles and Derek headed back to the room they were sharing.

  "I don't understand why she's being so cruel all the sudden," Stiled said with a large sigh as he plopped down onto his bed.

  "I don't understand how someone as small as you can take up an entire bed," Derek replied in attempt to lighten the mood. Stiles really couldn't suppress the smile that was brought across his features.

  "Changing the subject already?" Stiles questioned with a smirk as he propped himself up on his elbows and raised an eyebrow.

  "I just feel as though my input would be rather biased at the moment. You need to talk to someone who wouldn't give you a biased opinion."

  Stiles' smirk fell and he groaned as dropped into the bed again. "You're so unhelpful!" he yelled.

  "I'm sure she's just worried about you. I'm the son of someone who would love every one of your kind dead."

  "My kind?" Stiles questioned a bit insulted.

  "That was rude?"

  "Yes, Der, very rude."

  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you."

  "It's fine, I know you didn't," Stile sighed as he rolled onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillows, "Remember earlier when I said sometimes I wish I were human. This is one of those times."  
Stiles could hear Derek's footsteps come closer to the bed and the creaking of the springs when he sat down next to him. The bed dipped and Stiles turned his head towards the sighing knight. "What?"

  "I think I'd be dead right now if you were human," Derek said, "look Stiles, you shouldn't let other people force you to wish away part of what makes you, you. So, technically you're a criminal, but I don't see it that way. Melissa and Scott think you're fantastic. The people who push you forward are the only ones you should be listening to. They'll keep you grounded while lifting you up."

  "When did you get so poetic?"

  "I need to show you what poetry is because you clearly have a loose understanding of it."

  "No, go back to saying nice things about me! I liked it!"

  "Nope, you ruined it, kid," Derek said as he stood up.

  "No!" Stiles whined as he quickly reached out and grabbed Derek's arm, "don't leave me! I'm suffering!"

  "I tried to assist you with your inner turmoil, but then you had to ruin it with that mouth of yours."

  "I'm sorry! I won't say anything I promise!"

  "If I sit down will you stop yelling?"

  "Yes."

  Much to Stiles enjoyment Derek sat back down with a exaggerated sigh. "You're so needy, Stiles."

  "I like to think of it as lovable."

  "That's not even a comparison."

  "Admit it, I'm loveable."

  "You're an enjoyable presence to have around." Derek said. Stiles pouted and rolled over so that his back was now l turned to the knight. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. He wanted Derek to call him lovable and he honestly didn't know why what he said wasn't good enough. "What?"

  "Nothing, I'm just tired," Stiles mumbled as he grabbed the blanket and tried pulling it over himself. There was a bit of a struggle since the blanket was stuck under himself and that cause Derek to chuckle. Eventually he mangaged to pull it over himself and released a huff of irritation.

  "Having trouble there?" Derek asked as he stood up.

  "You shouldn't laugh at someone else's distress Derek."

  "Don't be like that," the man said as he crawled into bed next to Stiles, "I'm fairly certain you enjoy watching other's misfortune more than street performances."

  "That's different. I literally feed off misery, Derek. I need it to survive."

  "I thought you were tired?"

  "You keep talking!" Stiles yelled as he rolled over to face the other again.

  "You keep responding," Derek said with a small smirk.

  Stiles glared at Derek for a moment before returning to his previous position of having his back facing him. "Goodnight, nightwere."

  "Nightwere?"

  "Werewolf and Nightmare."

  "Don't make up words, Stiles. Besides, that's never going to catch on."

"Don't shit on my parade."

"Go to sleep, Stiles."

"I will sleep whenever the hell I want!" Stiles said defiantly, "which happens to be now! So, goodnight!"

Derek sighed and rolled his eyes, but Stiles didn't see that. He also didn't see the gentle expression that graced the prince's features as he stared at the back of the other's head. "Goodnight," he whispered with a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What do you think? Worth the wait? Probably not so I'll try not to make you wait too long for the next chapter! If there is any mistakes PLEASE INFORM ME.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek finds out that Stiles is suppressing his some of his abilities and that has some pretty severe consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Derek's POV

  Derek awoke to the barely noticeable version of Stiles scent and his warm body pressed up against him. This was becoming a habit of the other, but it wasn't like Derek was complaining. What he actually found strange about it was the fact that he really didn't mind. He actually enjoyed sharing the bed with the other, but something was wrong with the young sorcerer.

  His grip on Derek had tightened and there were signs of extreme distress across his facial features. He could see the small movements under the other's eyelids as his eyes darted back and forth. He was definitely not experiencing any sort of happiness while he slept. Derek could hear the mumbled pleads for some unknown force to stop whatever it was doing and his insistent calling for his mother.

  Derek was about to wake the other when the window to the room flew open and the sound of something shattering and another thing crashing reach his ears. The boy shot up with a scream that hadn't sounded like his own. It was much louder and way more feminine than he could ever naturally conjure. Derek had to cover his ears to protect them from a shriek that would make a deaf man cringe.

  Once Stiles' screams had died down Derek saw the terrified look on his face and could hear the sound of footsteps racing towards the room. The door swung open to reveal an extremely concerned Scott standing in the door way. Stiles was breathing heavily and quickly, like he was going to hyperventilate. Scott looked at Stiles then at Derek who was certain he was wearing quite the shocked expression himself. 

   The next person at the door was Melissa, but unlike Scott, she didn't spend much time there. She pushed past Scott and into the room as quickly as she could. She skid to a hault in front of Stiles who was now tightly gripping onto his hair and had his knees to his chest. "Stiles, sweetie I need you to breathe ok? What happened? Come on talk to me Stiles," she said calmly as she gripped his wrists and tried to pull his hands away from his head.

  "What the hell did you do!" Scott asked Derek angrily.

  "H-he was having a nightmare! I don't know what happened!" Derek stuttered out as he stared at Stiles.

  "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Stiles screamed out which caused Melissa to flinch, "YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD!"

  "Who's dead Stiles? Look at me honey. Who's dead?" Melissa asked as she grew increasinly worried.

  "SHE'S DEAD! SHE CAN'T COME BACK! NONONONONONONO! STAY AWAY!"

  "Stiles, its a dream! Come back to me ok it was just a dream!" Melissa explained.

  "SHE'LL COME BACK! SHE WANTS THEM DEAD! SHE'S GOING TO KILL HIM!" At this point the young boy was in tears. It was as if he wasn't even there but somewhere else. Somewhere that terrified him.

  "Who is she going to kill Stiles?" Suddenly Stiles got very quiet and stopped struggling. An unsettling silence filled the room that made Derek's skin crawl. "Stiles?"

  Stiles slowly looked up at Melissa but his eyes had changed to hazel rather than honey. The moment Stiles had opened his mouth the female's scream from before was released, but this time much louder. Covering his ears did almost nothing to prevent the loud scream from reaching his eardrums. Once the boy had stopped screaming his eyes had rolled to the of his head and he had fallen back onto the bed.

  "Mom?" Scott questioned as he uncovered his ears. In reality he was asking 'what the hell just fucking happened.'

  "I don't know, Scott."

  "He saw something," Allison stated from behind Scott. No one had seen or heard her enter. How could they with all the screaming. 

  "Saw what?" Derek asked.

  "The future. Someone is trying to kill someone else," Allison explained.

  "Who?" Scott asked, "do we know who?"

  "No, and we won't know. He probably won't remember what he saw. The only clue we have is that the killer is supposed to be dead and wants revenge."

  "He's going to be ok right?" Scott asked worriedly.

  "Just let him rest for now," Melissa mumbled, but Derek could tell she didn't know what to do.

  "Those sounded like Lydia was the one screaming," Allison stated.

  "Lydia?" Scott questioned.

  "Those were obviously banshee screams, and we only know of one banshee," Allison explained.

  "He's alright, right? He's going to be fine right?" Derek asked as he grew increasingly annoyed at how calm the other's were acting.

  Allison looked at him for a moment with a curiois expression for a moment before offering a soft reassuring smile. "Don't worry he'll be perfectly fine. Visions just take a lot out of sorcerers, especially the young ones."

  "Derek, Stiles is a big boy he can handle a little future seeing," Melissa said as she stood up, "he's going to have one hell of a migraine when he actually wakes up though," Melissa explained with a sigh.

  "I thought you guys didn't know what happened?" Derek said with a raised eyebrow.

  "Well, he's had predictions like this before, but we've never heard him scream like that. Honestly, I'm currently more concerned with what he saw..... And now I'm concerned with how close you are to him. Do you need seperate rooms? You're not sleeping with eachother are you?"

  "Melissa, I'm sure Derek wasn't even aware they were so close to eachother," Allison said smiling, "do you want us to get Stiles something for his headache when he wakes up?"

  "I need you to go get me some water. The bucket is by the door just fill it. I'll make sure he doesn't make himself sick."

  "Sick? What do you meam sick?" Derek asked worriedly.

  "Sometimes when the premonitions are that vivid he makes himself sick because of it. He tries to suppress the seer part of him because he's convinced it will drive him insane. Sometimes he uses too much energy trying to stop it and when he can't it makes him sick," Melissa explained, "Scott, get me a small towel please."

  "The fact he's suppressing it makes it impossible to control," Allison added as she pulled Derek out of the room with her, "go put on a cloak."

  "Why do I need to put on a cloak?"

  "To hide your face. You're the missing prince. There are drawings of you everywhere," Allison stated as they reached the front door. She grabbed two of the cloaks hanging there and handed one to Derek before pulling the second one over her shoulders. "Don't draw attention to yourself," she said as she flipped the hood up and walked outside.

  Derek quickly put the cloak on and followed after her with the empty bucket. "I went out yesterday, and no one recognized me."

  "Yesterday the messanger wouldn't have gotten word out yet, but today he would have had a sufficient amount of time to tell the village guards and post it up on the church doors for the village to know. I get the feeling you want to stick around a little longer, so you need to hide your identity."

  Derek nodded as his eyes scanned the people around them. They did seem to be a bit more talkative. The whole village was alive with everything from theories about if he died to dreams of what those people would do with the reward money. Stiles could probably get someone to build a bigger house for him. He could have a whole hidden room just for magic. Derek bet the boy would love that.

  He couldn't get the idea of Stiles' eyes lighting up as he discovered all the types of magic he could possibly fathom out of his head. How happy he could make him, but for what price? He wouldn't be able to see the sorcerer's eyes light up because once he was safely back at the castle he would never be able to see Stiles again, and for some unknown reason that upset Derek.

  "Derek?" Allison questioned as she tilted her head, "are you alright?"

  Derek snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at Allison. "I'm sorry, I got lost in my own head."

  "Don't worry, just fill the bucket."

  Derek looked down and realized he was in front of the pump. He hadn't even known they walked that far. He placed the bucket under the head and began to pump the water.

  "Were you thinking of him?" Allison asked, "Stiles I mean."

  "Does it matter to you?"

  "Well, yes. Stiles matters to me. He likes you and he trusts you. I don't want him to get hurt," she explained as she picked up the now full pale of water. Derek tried to take it from her but she haulted him, "I can carry it."

  "I would never hurt Stiles. He-"

  "Is very important to you? You care deeply about him, I can tell. I'm starting to doubt you even have the capability of hurting him."

  "Then why put doubt where not even you have it. You made him doubt me yesterday. You upset him."

  "And you protected him. At dinner when I brought it up, you butt in and defended him. Really, I just wanted to see how you'd react," she explained, "I'm telling you right now that he's going to want to see you as soon as he wakes up."

  "Why?"

  "Like I said, he likes you. You fascinate him. Just like he fascinates you."

  "Don't play games with him anymore."

  "I won't, I promise," Allison said as they made it to the cottage. Derek opened the door for her and they walked in.

  The first thing Derek heard was Stiles letting out a painful groan, which cause him to rush past Allison into Stiles' room. "Is he alright? What's wrong?" he asked as he knelt down next to Melissa who was dabbing the boy's forehead with a towel. Stiles was practically soaked in sweat and held an expression that showed extreme discomfort.

  "I told you. He get's sick when he loses control," Melissa explained.

  "Is he in pain?" Derek asked worriedly.

  "He probably just has a headache at the moment. It seems really bad this time though."

  "Bad? I feel like my head just got struck with a fucking cannon ball!" Stiles yelled before groaning in pain.

  "I wasn't aware you had woken up," Melissa stated calmly.

  "How can I sleep through all the ringing in my ears!"

  Derek knelt down by Stiles and grabbed his hand. "I can take care of it if you'd like?" he offered, but Stiles didn't respond. Instead his face contorted to one showing more physical pain and distress. Derek's grip on his hand tightened as he began trying to take away the smaller male's pain. He winced when he began to feel what the other was feeling, but he felt soothed when he heard him gasp and sigh with relief. His features softened and he smiled up at him.

  "Wow, you sure did take care of that," he mumbled, "that really did feel great. Thanks."

  "What did you do to him?" Melissa asked curiously.

  "It's an ability some werewolves have. We can take another's pain away through human contact. I'm glad you're feeling so relieved Stiles. You had me worried."

  "Yea well, I'm more worried that my hex on the room shattered. What even happened?"

  "That's what we intend to find out," Melissa said as she stood up all the way, "for now just take it easy. I need to get some fire wood-"

  "I'll get it!" Stiles interrupted as he began sitting up, but Derek pressed a hand to his chest to stop him, "come on! I'm fine! I can do it! It's only a little fire wood right?"

  "Stiles you need rest," Melissa stated firmly.

  "I can't rest if I'm not tired! I feel fine thanks to the wolf prince here!"

  "Let me come with you. We can gather more wood that way," Derek offered as he stood up, but really didn't like the idea. He held his hand out to help Stiles up. 

  Stiles took the hand and got up off the bed with a shrug. "Alright, then let's go!" he said before quickly heading towards the door. Derek followed after him and vaguely wondered where Scott and Allison had gone. "They're probably making out somewhere where Melissa won't see them."

  "What?"

  "Didn't you ask me where Scott and Allison went?"

  "No, Stiles I haven't said anything."

  Stiles paused and looked back at Derek before blushing as he looked down at the ground. Derek didn't understand why the boy was blushing but he really didn't mind it. He found it quite endearing. "Oh, sorry."

  "You can read minds too?"

  "I didn't mean to! I'll stop I swear!"

  "Stiles, you shouldn't suppress your powers like that. It just makes them harder to control."

  "I don't want to end up like my grandfather. He went insane because of this kind of thing."

  "You're not him. You'll be fine if you allow it to move through you."

  "I don't know, Derek."

  "Do you know what happens when a werewolf supresses their powers?" Derek questioned, and when he recieved no reply he continued, "they lose their human side. They lose themselves."

  "You think that would happen to me?"

  "I don't want it to."

  "I can't control it."

  "Could you control magic when you first got it?"

  "Fuck no. I nearly blew up the house!"

  "Exactly, you'll learn to control it," Derek assured. He wondered for a moment what actually happened to Stiles' grandfather before noticing that the boy was picking up twigs and small sticks as they entered the woods, "why are you picking up sticks? Isn't there anything bigger?"

"Melissa must have run out of logs, because you know, we peasants always have our logs on hand."

"Why do you keep calling yourself a peasant?"

"That's what I am, Derek."

"Not to me," Derek said softly.

Stiles turned around to look at Derek with a raised eyebrow. "If I'm not a peasant than what am I?"

"When you call yourself a peasant it sounds like you're demeaning yourself. I don't like it," Derek explained before noticing an underlying scent slowly taking over Stiles'.

"Then what am I?" Derek couldn't place the scent. It seemed like it was fighting with the boy's natural scent and it was winning. Something was wrong. Very wrong. "What am I to you?" Stiles was right in front of Derek now. Those eyes were distracting him from the scent.

Derek didn't know what happened, but suddenly he was cupping the other's face and slamming his lips against his. The sticks in Stiles' arms dropped to the ground as he pushed against Derek's chest and was pressed into a tree. He moaned as his back hit the trunk and began to move his lips with Derek's. 

Derek could feel Stiles' grip on his shirt tighten as he pressed against him. He could hear the small gasps of air he attempted to take and the moans that vibrated in his throat. Everything, every little thing the boy did drew him in more and more. The way his nails scraped against his chest through the fabric of his shirt. The way his lips moved in sync with his own. The way he pressed himself up against Derek. The way he tilted his head to get a better angle. Everything was just so damn enticing, but that scent. It was growing stronger. It was taking over the intoxicating scent that was Stiles.

Derek pulled away and looked down at the breathless boy with eye blown wide. Those eyes were practically glowing. No, they were glowing. They were nothing like he had ever seen. They were like pools of liquid gold, but they were no longer looking at Derek. They were looking past him.

Derek turned to see what the other was staring at and realized that the leaves and sticks surrounding them were now floating in the air. It amazed Derek. Was Stiles doing this? Suddenly, everything fell, and when Derek looked back at Stiles his eyes had dimmed to normal. His scent was gone. His eyelids fluttered shut as his legs gave out beneath him. Derek almost didn't catch him, and, when he put the back of his hand to Stiles forehead, he realized something dreadful. He was burning up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! They finally kiss! Get ready for this whirl wind romance to take off! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had to rewrite half of it do to my phone hating me and deleting it. PLEASE INFORM ME OF ANY ERRORS.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles tries to stop himself from supressing his magic, and realizes he and Derek just can't catch a break!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stiles' POV

  Darkness. That's all Stiles could see. It was all he could feel. It wrapped around him and tightened it's grip with every breath he took. It was like a snake. He couldn't move. A figure began to appear ahead of him and the landscape began to take form. "Nononono," Stiles began as he realized what was happening. 

  The figure moved closer to him and suddenly he was struck full of fear. "NO STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed and tried to back away, but the darkness held him in place. It felt like hands were pinning him down. There was a person on the floor. He couldn't tell who it was. 

  He screamed, or, at least, he thought he did. It didn't sound like himself. "You're supposed to be dead!" Stiles' head snapped around to a women standing at his right. He turned back to the figure, and suddenly it was right in front of him. It's face scarred beyond recognition, and frightening Stiles to the bone. He wanted to scream but he couldn't.

  The figure was laughing now. It was more of a cackle really. Stiles stepped backwards to get away as he stared at the horrific sight. He needed to get away. "Your little druid boy won't save you!" the figure said with a grin. 

  "ST-STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he yelled which caused it to cackle again. Stiles covered his ears to drown out the noise but it just got louder. He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to see this. He didn't want this. "WakeupwakeupwakeupWakeupWAKEUP!" he commanded, but his body wouldn't listen. 

  "You can't escape what you are," the figure said ominously, but that reminded him of what Derek had said. Maybe if he stopped trying to wakeup it'll stop on it's own. He uncovered his ears and looked up at the figure, but now it was far away. It didn't even seem to acknowledge him. He turned to the women beside himself and scanned her features. 

  "Are you barefoot?" Stiles questioned but the women didn't acknowledge him either, "hello? Who is she?"

  "The Hales will hear of what you've done!" the women yelled angrily as her eyes glowed red. She's an Alpha. Holy shit she's an Alpha. Stiles took a step back from her.

  "Perhaps, but not from you!" the figure said before slashing the women into pieces with what seemed like glass. Stiles gasped as the women hit the floor and stared on in shock. He looked back up at the woman? He was pretty sure it was a woman. "Don't worry, I'll take care of the Hales too."

  "NO!" Stiles yelled before he was forced forward to look at the person who had been on the floor. It was his him. No it couldn't be. He turned to his left and saw Lydia standing there and she screamed. He covered his ears again. He looked back down and there was no longer just one body. It was like he was standing in a graveyard. Lydia was still screaming when he shot up safe and sound in his own bed.

  "NO!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. He felt the sweat drip down his forehead and his cheeks, or were those tears. Was he crying?

  "Stiles, what's wrong? what happened?" Melissa kept asking him, but he was starting to get confused. Was he awake? 

  "Are you alright?" Stiles heard Derek say and snapped his head around to see him. He was awake. He had to be.

  He took a moment, but he calmed down enough. He looked straight a head as he tried to catch his breath. When did he lose it? "I-I'm ok. I'm fine," Stiles mumbled as he tried to take in his surroundings. It was his room at Melissa's house. 

  "Stiles?" Melissa questioned and his attention snapped back to her. She looked concerned and had a hand on his shoulder. Why couldn't he catch his breath? "Stiles, sweetie, in and out honey. In and out."

  "I-I can't! I can't breathe!"

  "I know, I know, but you have to try," Melissa said calmly as she began rubbing his back, "breathe with me alright? Breathe in." Melissa took a deep breath in and held it before letting it out slowly. Stiles copied her breathing. It took a few more breaths for him to breathe normally again.

  He swallowed hard. "S-sorry, I thought I was fine," he mumbled.

  "Don't apologise. I'm just glad you're really fine now. It was just a bad dream," Melissa said smiling before standing up, "I'll get you some water alright?" Stiles watch as she left the room.

  As soon as the door closed he looked to Derek. "That was not a dream," he stated firmly.

  "What was it?" Derek asked curiously.

  "A premonition, well, partially a premonition. I feel as though part of it was a warning."

  "A warning?"

  "There was this woman there and she was really mad at this Alpha and killed her, but something was off about the whole thing. She mentioned me. Well, I'm assuming she was talking about. There was a body by the woman, and that belonged, but my face didn't. Plus when I heard Lydia scream the first time it was more like a memory than it actually happening."

  "First time?"

  "The target was the Alpha, and somebody really doesn't want me to get involved. Well the target was the royal family."

  "What! Stiles!"

  "Hey I don't make the future happen! She just said that she'd get the Hales too!"

  "So who was the Alpha?"

  Stiles shrugged and looked down at his lap. "I think she was barefoot though. Who walks around barefoot?"

  "Kali, she's a duchess. She prefers to be barefoot."

  "She wasn't dressed like a duchess."

  "How do you think a duchess dresses?"

  "I don't know! Not barefoot!"

  "Seriously, don't make fun of her. I know you're joking, but she would actually kill you."

  "I wouldn't say any of it to her face. Alphas are fucking terrifying."

  "I'm an Alpha."

  "Yea but you're really ho-I mean, no. No I can't cover that up."

  "You're not bad yourself," Derek said with a small chuckle.

  Stiles could feel his face heating up as he looked back down at his lap and gave a small smile. He was about to say something else when Melissa came in with a cup of water. "Stiles, are you alright? You're all red," Melissa asked as she handed him the water and felt his forehead with the back of her hand, "do you still have a fever?"

  "N-no! I'm not red! It must be the lighting, right? That makes sense right?" he asked as he turned to Derek for reassurance.

  "The sun is going down. Everything looks reddish," Derek explained.

  Melissa didn't look like she was buying shit, but she gave a nod anyways, "I'll pretend I believe that. Try to get some sleep tonight alright, Sweetie?"

  "I don't know. Sleep hasn't exactly been my best subject as of late."

  "Derek don't let him out of bed."

  "I won't let him out of my sight ma'am."

  "Don't call me ma'am, you make me sound so old!" Melissa yelled as she left the room.

  "How long have I been out?" Stiles asked as he turned towards Derek.

  "All day. Had everyone really worried there Stiles."

  "I thought I was fine."

  "Because I took too much of your pain away. You probably didn't even feel yourself getting sick."

  "You know, a lot of what happened before I passed out is a bit foggy," Stiles explained with a small grin, "want to, maybe, jog my memory?"

  "Are you asking me to kiss you again?" Derek asked as he leaned in closer to Stiles.

  "And here I thought I was being clever," Stiles whispered before closing the gap between them. He turned his body towards Derek to get a better angle and brought a hand up to wrap around the back of the other's neck as he leaned on the other hand for balance. It wasn't as rough and desperate like the first kiss, but it wasn't exactly gentle either. 

  Derek placed his hands on either side of him and leaned his knee against the matress. Stiles was trying to match the way the prince's lips moved as he allowed the other to push him back into the matress. He brought the arm he was leaning on up to wrap around the man's neck. He felt his teeth nip at his lower lip and parted them for the other. 

  He got a feeling like he was floating again. Just like before. He could feel the energy from the wolf flow through him, and it was amazing. He could only describe this feeling as weightless. He loved it. He loved this feeling. He never wanted it to stop, but breathing was a necessity. How the fuck was Derek holding his breath this long. Stiles pressed his right hand against Derek's chest and gently pushed him away. 

  "Derek I need to breathe," he joked breathlessly, but Derek just looked at him in utter shock, "what?"

  "Your eyes," he whispered.

  "What about them?" Stiles questioned with a raised eyebrow.

  "They're golden."

  "Figure that out for yourself, huh big guy?"

  "Stiles, they're glowing!"

  "WHAT?" Stiles yelled as he shot up, and what he saw shocked him even more. Just like before everything was floating around them. None of the items in the air were big, but none the less they were floating. Almost as soon as he noticed it everything fell to the ground. 

  "That happened in the woods too. Your eyes started glowing and everything was floating. I would say it's incredible, but by the look on your face I'm going to assume it's not a good thing."

  "Ofcourse it's not a good thing! Well, wait, it could mean a good thing... I mean it used to happen a while ago."

  "Why is it happening Stiles?"

  "Well, it happened when I was ten. My mom was taken then. For a long time I couldn't control my magic. I'd get mad or have a nightmare and things would catch fire or fly across the room. I'm sure it's an emotional thing. Like when we y-you know kissed I kind of- well I," Stiles could feel himself turning red as he tried to explain himself, "kind of felt like, weightless I guess."

  "So the stronger the feeling, the bigger the reaction?"

  "I guess so," Stiles mumbled. Derek was smirking at him now and that had Stiles feeling some kind of way. "What?"

  "Nothing, I was just thinking."

  "Thinking about what?" 

  "What do you think would happen if we didn't stop?" he whispered as he leaned in close to his ear.

  "What! I-I don't know! I n-never-"

  "I know you've never done it Stiles, but if you get so worked up over a simple kiss, than what would happen if we took it a little further, hm?" Derek teased and began placing gentle kisses behind his ear.

  "De-Derek-" Stiles was cut off when said man nipped him as a hand slithered it's way under his shirt, "Fuck."

  "That's what I'm aiming for Stiles, try to keep up," Derek teased as he pushed Stiles back into the bed. Stiles gasped as the knight began kissing down his neck and nipped at his collar bone. He was beginning to lose focus again. He was starting to feel like he was floating, but something grounded him. 

   Someone at the doorway cleared their throat. Stiles snapped his head back to see Allison standing at the door with a plate of food in her hands and one hell of a shit eating grin on her face. He shot up in the bed and turned towards Allison with a now eternally reddening face. "Allison!!"

  "Me!" she responded jokingly, "you must really be enjoying yourself. You're quite the hot mess."

  "Is there a reason you're in here, or are you just here to interrupt?" Derek asked with irritation clear in his voice.

  "I came to bring Stiles some dinner, but it appears he'd rather skip to dessert," she teased as she walked into the room and set the plate on the nightstand, "how are you going to explain those?"

  "Explain what?" Stiles questioned.

  "Your neck and collar? He marked you."

  "Marked me! Derek!"

  "The only one that can't be hidden with ease is the one behind his ear, and even that would be difficult to spot," Derek explained.

  "There's nothing wrong with marking him Derek. Stiles, when a werewolf does that to someone it's their way of claiming you as theirs. It's like scenting but temporary. Now, if he breaks skin during the more hardcore part of your little escapade that's a mating bite. That permanently alters your sent. Makes it a point that no one is aloud to touch you," Allison explained.

  "Why are you telling me this?"

  "Because I know you would flip shit if he bit you."

  "Why would he freak out?" Derek questioned a bit confused.

  "Werewolf bites kill sorcerers. Not always but most bites are kind of poisonous to us," Stiles explained.

  "But a mating bite is different. It doesn't change the victim of it which means it wouldn't kill you Stiles," Allison stated.

  "Thanks for the information, but can you go? We were kinda busy," Stiles insisted.

  "Just make sure you eat," Allison said before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

  "Talk about a buzz kill," Stiles grumbled as he leaned over and grabbed the plate of food, "were you really scenting me?"

  "I can't help it. It's one of the ways werewolves show affection. We like to show what is ours."

  "I hope you're not implying that you own me. I am nobody's property."

  "No, I'm implying that it's comforting when your partner has a similar scent."

  "That's oddly kind of cute," Stiles said as he began eating, "are you going to get any food for yourself?"

  "I ate. Do you want me to light a candle? Since it is getting dark."

  "I can do it," Stiles said as he held his hand out to the lamp on the desk.

  Derek grabbed Stiles wrist to stop him from casting the spell. "Stiles, you've already used a lot of energy today. Don't over due it."

  "I haven't done any spells for days!"

  "But you've had two premonitions, which apparently takes a lot out of you. I'll light the candle. Just finish eating alright?"

  "La det bli ild," Stiles said as he narrowed his eyes at Derek. The flame on the candle came to life and Derek looked rather annoyed with Stiles. "What? I don't like being told what to do. Should have figured that out by now Sourwolf."

  "Do you even listen to your father?"

  "When his suggestions aren't stupid, sure, but I don't exactly live in an area where rules apply."

  "I'm sorry you have to live in such a dreadful place."

  "Derek, don't do that to yourself. It's not your fault your dad sucks," Stiles said as he finished off his dinner and set the plate back on the nightstand, "oh, no offense, though."

  "I'm slightly offended."

  "I'm not going to apologise for my distaste for your father."

  "I don't expect you to. We should go to bed."

  "I've literally been sleeping all day Derek," Stiles whined. 

  "Because you had a fever, which could return. You need rest."

"I literally just lit the lantern."

"And I told you not to."

"You're the one that suggested lighting it!"

"Because you would probably find a way to hurt yourself just from sitting in bed with no light."

  "Fine, fine, but leave the lantern lit."

  "I was planning to," Derek sighed and got under the covers, sliding closer to Stiles as he made his way under the blanket as well. Stiles slid almost completely on top of the prince as an arm was wrapped around his waste. He found the warmth from the other rather soothing. Surprisingly, it did not take long for Stiles to be pulled back to sleep. Maybe he should have listened to Derek about that spell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! They really can't get any further in their escapades in such a tiny house. Just wait until they get to the castle *HINT HINT* anyways, I'm going to be posting new chapters as I finish them now instead of weekly. That means new chapters could come in less or more than a week. I really enjoy your feed back guys! Inform me of ANY ERRORS PLEASE!!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some very unwanted guests arrive and Derek is worried Stilesvis digging his own grave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Derek's POV

  Derek was jarred awake by a frantic Stiles shaking his shoulder. He was yelling something at him, but he was rambling in jumbled up sentences. Was he even speaking English? "Stiles?" Derek question but Stiles didn't stop. That was definitely not English. "Stiles.... Stiles! I don't understand anything you're saying. English Stiles!"

  Stiles gave him a questioning look for a moment and tilted his head quizzically. That look was starting to make Derek feel like an idiot before the boys eyes widened in realization. "Beklager, I got spent," he tried to explain, but Derek didn't understand most of it. What he heard made him more confused.

  "You got spent?" Derek asked slowly as he sat up and raised an eyebrow at the other.

  "Sorry! I got spen- I mean excited! I got excited!" 

  "Why did you get excited?"

  "Well it wasn't a good kind of excited it was more like a, 'holy fucking shit I'm so screwed!' type of excited! Like seriously I thought my days were numbered but never did I imagine my life would end so soon and-"

  "The point, Stiles."

  "Oh! I had a vision!"

  Derek waited for a further explanation, but the pause lasted too long for a continuation. "Are you going to tell me what the vision was?"

  "Oh! My dad is coming with a bunch of knights to come find you! If they search the forest they'll find the house and realize what I am! I don't know who most of the knights are but two of them were Boyd and Isaac. I think. I'm not sure." Isaac and Boyd? They're both coming here? Crap. They would be able to smell that Stiles isn't human. He could be killed on the spot.

  "If your dad is with them than he can steer them away."

  "My dad is not a fucking knight Derek. He doesn't hold any standing above knights either! You think they'll listen to him?"

  "Stiles, what do you want me to do?"

  "Get ready! I have to think of something to tell them when they search here."

  "Just tell them you found me in the woods and that I was hurt."

  "Derek, that doesn't explain why I never reported that I found the fucking prince, it doesn't explain why you took so long to heal, and doesn't explain who attacked you!"

  "Just tell them what happened, Stiles, no big deal."

  "Oh yea, because it's totally believable that Kate Argent, the well respected princess of Dræfend, and oh, not to mention the woman you are supposed to marry, stabbed you with a wolfsbane laced silver dagger! Yea, 100%, totally, and completely flapjacking believable! And even if they buy that do you realize the consequences! This could start a war Derek! A war!"

  "Flapjacking?"

  "DEREK!"

  "Ok, ok, I see your point."

  "It's hard to fucking miss my point!" Stiles yelled before his head perked up towards the door, "stay here."

  "Why-" Derel was cut off when he heard knocking at the door. When Stiles said they were coming he didn't expect them to be here before the sun came up. Stiles grabbed the lamp that was still burning off the desk and left the room in a hurry. Derek listened to his footsteps as their made their way to the door. 

  The door creaked open and a man's voice he did not recognize started to speak. "Stiles? What are you doing here?" he heard him ask.

  "You know this boy?" that was definitely Boyd. 

  "This is my son, I'm sorry he's not commonly here," so the man was Stiles' father. He did say he was coming.

  "It's um, It's nice to meet you," Stiles was not very good at hiding things. He could hear how nervous he was about the knights.

  "You named your son Stiles? Stiles Stilinski?" and there's Isaac. 

  "It's a family nickname, you wouldn't be able to pronounce my actual name," Stiles explained.

  "Stiles, let me talk to Melissa," Stiles' father demanded with obvious irritation.

  "Uh, do you see the sun? 'cause I don't, and I'm sorry, but I want to live dad."

  "By order of the king we must speak with the physician of this village," Boyd said authoritatively and Derek could just imagine the glare Stiles was probably sending them. They had to mention his father.

  "Fine, but I need to talk to my dad. I'll get Melissa if I can talk to him privately," Stiles demanded and waited for the knights to agree before closing the door. The footsteps came back down the hall and past the room they shared. He heard knocking on the door at the end of the hall. "Melissa, there are people at the door," he called out.

  "Stiles?" Melissa responded sleepily as she opened her door, "who's at the door?"

  "Dad, and some knights."

  "Damn it, can't they come back later?"

  "Nope," Stiles stated, "buy some time while I talk to my dad?"

  "I'll try, wait in your room I'll send him in," She said before Derek heard her walk to the door. Stiles tried to stop her, probably to remind her that Derek was here.

  A few moments later Stiles walked into the room and shut the door before running his hand through his hair. "So, it just occured to me that my silencing of the room spell may have shattered. I'm going to guess you heard that."

  "They're going to search the house."

  "They won't have to. It's not like we're hiding you."

  "Your father is coming," Derek said as heavy footsteps heading towards the room.

  The door opened as Stiles stepped away from it and looked back at his father. The man's face looked as if Derek was an actual wolf or something. He was definitely shocked to see him. He quickly shut the door and grabbed his son by the shoulders. "Are you insane! I want to hear an explanation right now, and don't you lie to me!"  
  "Oh, I totally kidnapped the Prince to achieve my destined revenge by killing him," Stiles said sarcastically but his dad did not seem amused, "Ok, ok to be fair, he was dying when I found him."

  "What happened!"

  "You literally would not believe me if I told you."

  "Try me."

  "Alright, this psycho woman that he's betrothed to stabbed him with a silver dagger laced in wolfsbane, don't ask how I knew what weapon because I didn't I am guessing from the wound that was at his side, but I didn't know who he was! I couldn't just leave him there to die! Then the bitch broke into our house so I brought him here! I was trying to be a good person dad! You should be proud of me!"

  "Did you know he was a knight when you found him?"

  "Well, um," Stiles looked down amd scratched the back of his neck, "maybe?"

  "STILES!"

  "He was going to die!"

  "I am very greatful for his compassion," Derek said as he raised his hand, "you shouldn't worry. I won't expose him."

  "HE KNOWS!"

  "He may, or may not have figured it out," Stiles mumbled and damn did he look guilty. It was almost cute.

  "Out of all the reckless- Stiles he could have killed you! He could still kill you!"

  "I would never!" Derek argued a bit insulted.

  "You do realize the Queen has requested a dinner with whoever returns her son safely. You have to go to the castle!"

  "Just say I don't need recognition."

  "My mother would be extremely insulted if you refused her invitation," Derek explained.

  "You have to go!" Stiles' father said.

  "Alisson could go," Stiles offered but Derek shook his head.

  "She didn't have permission to cross the border into Wulfhli," Derek said.

  "We'll just say Melissa saved him!"

  "She's the only physician in this area! She can't leave! Scott can't go either!"

  "Dad, we literally have no time for this!" 

  Stiles' father sighed heavily before opening the door behind him. "Your knights await you Prince Derek," he said. Derek nodded before exiting the room with both Stilinskis behind him. "I don't think a search is necessary."

  As soon as the knights saw Derek they rushed into the house, much to Melissa's dismay. "Derek! Are you alright!" Isaac asked, "Where have you been!"

  "I am fine, Isaac. I was attacked by someone in No Man's land. It was by someone who owned a silver dagger."

  "An Argent attacked you!" Boyd shouted in outrage. Derek should have figured they'd assume it was the work of an Argent. They're the only ones who carry solid silver weapons.

  "No!" Stiles yelled. Everyone looked at him with raised eyebrows and that made the boy squirm. "I-I mean, a lot of the people in No Man's Land smuggle weapons from other kingdoms. They could have attacked Derek to rob him, but probably realized he was royalty and ran off."

  "Wouldn't they want to rob him more then?" Boyd questioned.

  "Not necessarily. See if royalty was robbed and killed then that would give a proper reason for Wulfhli to send soldiers in. If that happened then they would have full freedom to place everyone there under arrest. Nobody wants to be the reason everyone goes down," Stiles explained with a shrug.

  "How do you know so much about No Man's Land?" Isaac asked without even attempting to hide his suspicions.

  "Maybe it's because some pychotic asshole decided to go on a witch hunt and burned down my house in the village so now I live in a cesspool of criminal activity," he snapped.

  Derek's head snapped to Stiles. He couldn't believe the boy just straight up called the king himself an asshole in front of two devoted knights. He was crazy! He had to be! When Derek saw the look of disgust on the knight's face and the equally shocked expression on his father's face he knew this was bad. Boyd stepped forward and glared at Stiles with hatred in his eyes. "I suggest you watch your tongue boy. If the king commanded your home burned then he had good reason to."

  "Are you dense? Aren't you supposed to be educated? Witch hunt is a common metaphor for anything that involves hunting down a certain group of people. The psychotic asshole is now in a cell because the reason he burned my house down was because my father is a village guard. He did it to many of the guards' homes."

  Derek really was trying his best not to laugh. The sorcerer really couldn't even hide his distaste for his knights for two seconds. Boyd looked embarassed. It wasn't obvious embarrassment but it was there. Mr. Stilinski was pinching his forehead and subtly shaking his head. "How dare you!" Isaac yelled.

  "Hey, I didn't wake you up at some unholy hour in the morning and force you to wake up a very hard working physician because you guys didn't do your job, which was to protect the prince!"

  "Ok! I think we're all just a little too tired right now! How about we all sit down and take a breath and I'll make some breakfast!" Melissa cut in as the tension grew.

  "Breakfast sounds great actually," Derek agreed and felt slightly relieved when Stiles nodded and walked past Melissa into the kitchen.

  "I'll help make it," he offered.

  "I wouldn't eat anything that peasant makes," Isaac spat.

  "Then don't eat," Derek retaliated and cause Isaac to take a step back, "you forget that you are unwelcomed guests in this house, so I suggest you show them respect and gratitude for their kindness."

  "My apologies," Isaac said in a low tone. Derek could see the small smirk on Stiles lips as he grabbed a pan. Melissa looked pretty damn smug at the moment as well.

  "I would expect you to have a better behaved son Noah," Boyd stated despite Derek's advise.

  "The only behavioural issues I see are yours. My son is an incredibly good judge of character, and he hated you right away. That says a lot," Noah, Derek now knows is the man's name, stated rather confidently. 

  Derek was starting to get fed up with the amount of disrespect his own knights were showing. Ok, Stiles definitely started it, but knights are trained to show more restraint. It was like they had none. His attention was snatched by the creaking open of one of the bedroom doors. He looked down the hall to see Scott staring at the two knights with wide eyes. He rushed into the room next to his as quickly as he could, but the hurry caused the door to slam loudly.

  "What was that?" Boyd asked as he looked down the hall.

  "Probably my son! He must have just woken up!" Melissa said quickly.

  "Do you smell that?" Isaac asked Boyd and Boyd nodded.

  "You wouldn't mind if we checked the rooms?" Boyd asked, but Derek knew it was just a courtesy. He was already heading down the hall and directly to the room Scott ran into.

  "Haven't you disturbed enough sleeping people? Just leave him be!" Stiles insisted as he rushed after the other knight, and Derek followed.

  Boyd swung the door open expecting to see what he thought would be an Argent based on the scent, but instead was Scott who had obviously just got under those covers. "Look, she was right, it's just her son," Derek said as Isaac walked past them and into the room.

  "H-Hi," Scott stammered out. He was definitely not good at hiding anything either.

  "Argents were in here. Where are they!" Isaac demanded.

  "I think you're lacking sleep," Stiles said but Boyd just sent him a glare before entering the room. Derek noticed that the window had been opened and nudged Stiles to direct his attention to it. When he saw he looked up at Derek for a moment before walking into the room and turned his back to it as he got closer. "nær rolig," he whisper before the window shut, "lukten av regn skjuler duft."

  "What was that you just said?" Isaac questioned, "what did you just do?"

  "I didn't do anything! If you must know I was insulting you in another language," Stiles explained and smiled at the other.

  "How dare you-" Isaac was cut off by Boyd putting a hand to his chest.

  "I can't smell her anymore," he said.

"You did something you little witch! Isaac yelled as he got up in Stiles face and lifted him by the fabric of his shirt. Stiles held his hands up defensively and it infuriated Derek how scared he looked.

"ISAAC!" he practically screamed as his eyes flashed red. This caused Isaac to immediately drop Stiles back onto his feet.

  "Guys, I'm by myself in here. Can you please just get out," Scott requested. He waited for the two knights to give eachother strange looks and leave the room before mouthing to Stiles, "Argent?"

  "I'll tell you later ok?" Stiles said as he patted the wrinkles out of his shirt and leaving the room with Derek, "I'm starting to regret saving you."

  "I have a feel it's not my fault," Derek replied with a small smile, "are you alright?"

  "I'm fine, Derbear. Just a little rattled," Stiles explained with a small smile, "Do I seriously have to go to the castle? I just don't think it would be wise."

  "You don't have a choice. The Queen will request your presence. I recommend you hold your tongue in front of her," Boyd replied from within the kitchen.

  "No shit. I don't have a death wish, and don't do that it's creepy!" Stiles said as he headed into the kitchen as well to help with cooking breakfast.

"Do what?" Boyd questioned.

"Listen to my conversations when you're not supposed to hear them! It's called privacy!"

"At least I didn't call the future king of Wulfhli, Derbear," Boyd stated with a small smirk, which caused quite the noticible blush to spread across Stiles' cheeks.

  "We should leave soon," Isaac suggested.

  "You should rest and load up first," Melissa said as she grabbed eggs.

  "Derek and I can go, I mean if he wants," Stiles suggested.

  "I don't think that would be wise. People would definitely recognize him now that they've seen the knights," Melissa explained, "How about you go with one of the knights."

  "Um, first of all, I'm pretty sure they hate me, second, everyone would riot."

  "Why would they riot?" Isaac asked curiously.

  "Because they would think I was being arrested."

  "Why would that be?" Boyd questioned the boy with a raised eyebrow.

  "Have you met me? I'm a crime waiting to happen!"

  "Stiles, please stop incriminating yourself," his father asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose. The door of the room Scott was in opened and closed before the boy made his was to the kitchen.

  "Why don't I go?" Scott offered with a small smile as he walked into the kitchen, "me and Stiles can go. Just give us a list of the things you need."

"Can you people stop with the suoer hearing! It's creepy!"

'Says the boy who can read minds,' Derek thought. He knew Stiles had hears that when the boy narrowed his eyes at him. He couldn't help the small smirk that made its way onto his features.

  "I'm afraid the rude one would poison us," Isaac stated.

"If you're going to insult me, you've got to do better than 'the rude one'. I'm aware I'm an ass," Stiles said.

  "Then you and him can go," Boyd said as he gestured to Scott and Isaac, "the boy has to prepare to leave as well. It would be better if he stayed."

  "Now I'm the boy. You guys really suck at insults. I don't need much preparing," Stiles grumbled and looked to Derek, "do I need preparing?"

  "Yes, and try to find something more presentable." he replied with a nod. With that he headed back to the room they shared with Stiles following as he groaned.  
"Oh yea, let me just get my rare silk apparel, because all us peasants have that," he said rolling his eyes.

Derek really hoped the younger boy wouldn't act so bitter in front of his mother. He hoped his father would be too busy to see Stiles. Maybe his father forgot the scent of sorcerers. Maybe sorcerers have different scents? He really didn't want Stiles getting hurt. Was this really such a good idea? No it wasn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had to be edited a lot because I just kept hating how I wrote it. I'm not entirely proud of this one but, hey, it mives the story along! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Tell me what you think! INFORM ME OF ERRORS. Enjoy!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles is about one more thing going wrong away from a full blown panic attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stiles POV

  Stiles was on edge. How could he not be! He was being forced to go somewhere that almost certainly meant his demise. He would have to sit at the same table and eat and play nice with a man that sentenced his mother to be burned. How could he do that? He nearly smashed a plate into Allison's head when she pushed his buttons. What would he do to the king?

  He was so unbelievably screwed. Oh God was he screwed. His palms were starting to sweat, and his hands were shaking as he started shifting through his bags. He couldn't breathe. Oh shit, was he having another panic attack? No, well at least not a severe one. He felt someone grab his shoulder and jumped, causing the bag to fall over, and it's contents to spill out. "Dritt," he mumbled under his breath. 

"Stiles, are you alright?"  Derek asked softly. He didn't want him to worry. He could do this. He could put on a show. He could pretend he was fine. He could totally lie to the queens face even though she's a werewolf and could probably tell he was lying. God, he was so royally screwed. 

  "Fin- fine, I mean. I'm fine," Stiles struggled to say as he kneeled down on the floor and began cleaning up his things. Dammit why couldn't he stick to english? He did it before just fine! Why is he struggling now? Is he having a near death experience? Does this count? He's pretty damn sure he's going to die at that castle. He doesn't want to sound cliché, but he is literally too young to die. He's 18! He has a good 10 to 20 years of life in him! Maybe more, since there's literally a potion for every ailment known to man. He had most of the common ones.

  "You don't seem fine. You reek," holy shit Derek was so bad at making him feel better. Stiles slowly looked up at him with the 'what the fuck?' look. Did he really just say that?

  "Excuse me?" He questioned as he tilted his head slightly.

  "No! Not like that! Your scent! It's like, covered in anxiety! You smell anxious!"

  "Next time complete the damn sentence."

  "Are you nervous about going?"

  "Holy crap, you must be fucking psychic!" Stiles said, each word dripping with sarcasm. Sometimes Derek asked the dumbest questions. The door to the room creeked open and Stiles froze. He might be good at fronts, but, thanks to Derek, he knew he reeked of anxiety.

  "I was going to ask how you were doing," Stiles' dad trailed off as he closed the door behind him.

  "I'm going to fucking throw up, dad."

  "Stiles, please watch your mouth," his father begged as his eyes shifted to Derek. Is he seriously worried that Derek is going to be insulted by his rotten mouth?

  "Are you worried about me? Oh no, he's fine. Honestly, it's refreshing. Most people try to act all proper around me," Derek explained as he got down and helped pick up the rest of Stiles' things.

  "You don't have to-"

  "Relax Mr. Stilinski. I'm fine. It's the least I can do for the help your son provided me with."

  Stiles couldn't help the small smile that spread across his lips. He liked when Derek defended him or stuck up for him. Of course he could very well stick up for himself, but knowing Derek was there was nice. The two stood back up, and Derek handed Stiles his things. "Yea, Dad," Stiles added, but he wasnt looking at his dad. He was still looking at Derek. Well, he was right before his father cleared his throat and grabbed his attention. "Wha-what?" 

  "Is there something I should know?" his father asked, and holy shit, Stiles really hoped he wasn't turning red. That was becoming a problem. He was too pale to hide a blush now.

  "Uh, yea! I have nothing fancy enough to wear to dinner with the queen, dad. I'd be insulting her eyes if I walked in with my normal attire!"

  "I don't have anything. I didn't exactly count on you of all people to suddenly be invited to dinner with the queen!"

  "Don't worry, I can have something made for you," Derek offered, "I don't think my mother would expect you to have any nice dinner clothes."

  "I'm slightly insulted," Stiles said with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow.

  "Am I wrong?" Derek asked.

  "The truth hurts, Derek!" Stiles yelled dramatically.

  "I'm missing something here? You two are acting too chummy," his dad said with a raised eyebrow.

  "Chummy? Who the hell says chummy?" Stiles questioned.

  "Did you do something to him Stiles?" his dad asked clearly suspicious of his son. I mean it's not like he had the best track record, but Stiles would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit offended.

  "Yes, Dad. Out of all the dumbest 'this will totally get you burned at the stake' things I could have done, I went straight for the top of the list and cursed the son of the man who's just waiting for an excuse to kill me, because I'm that fucking dumb."  
   
  "Go big, or go home," Derek joked with a small shrug.

  "You need to leave that mouth of yours here, or you really will be burned," his warned, "I know you're especially sarcastic right now because of how nervous you are, but try to keep it at a minimum."

  Nervous? He was fucking terrified! He had a terrible feeling in his stomach. He felt like throwing up! He couldn't breathe again. Fuck he couldn't breathe. Now this was definitely turning into a panic attack. There's a buzzing in his ears. Someone's calling him, but he can't hear anything else. Nothing but that persistent buzzing grow louder as it turned to ringing, and his racing heartbeat.

  "Stiles!" Derek? Was that Derek? His dad was kneeling in front of him. When did he get on the ground? "You need to breathe, Stiles!" No fucking shit Derek! The problem is he can't breathe! 

  "Stiles breathe with me," Dad to the fucking rescue, "in and out, come on." Stiles did. He mimicked his father's breathing and slowly started calming down. God, there were so many problems he had. Why did Derek like him even? He felt like some kind of Damsel in Distress. "Are you right?"

  "Oh yea, I'm fan-fucking-tastic!"

  "It's ok if you're scared, Stiles," Derek said as he knelt down in front of Stiles, "I won't let anything happen to you though. I'll keep you safe and sound."

  "Seriously, am I missing something? Last I heard you were as cold as ice," Stiles' dad explained with a raised eyebrow.

  "I'm not heartless," Derek replied more than slightly annoyed with the question. He gently wrapped a hand around Stiles' arm, and slowly helped the other to his feet. "people only say that because I'm very serious about my job." 

  "And you thought I was going to offend him," Stiles mumbled with a quiet chuckle. He was starting to feel better. Well, not so much better. He was still scared but at least he could breathe. Breathing is a bit important. 

  His father rolled his eyes before opening the door. "Don't bring any spell books Stiles. Unless you really do have a death wish. I'm going to ready the horses."

  "No royal carriage?" Stiles joked, but his father just rolled his eyes and left. Wow dad thanks.

  "I'd rather ride a horse. Carriages can be claustrophobic and uncomfortable," Derek explained.

  "I'd rather ride in a carriage for two days than ride a horse," Stiles argued.

  "Three days," Derek corrected.

  "Hoho even better!"

  "Well sometimes we'll have to walk. It won't be that bad."

  "It just keeps getting better!"

  "You just want the carriage for the privacy."

  "No, I wanted it so I could pretend I'm lazy. I want to be pampered, Derek. If I'm going to die when I get there, I want to feel like royalty before I get there!"

  "You're not going to die, Stiles. I'll protect you from him. You can hide it."

  "I couldn't hide it from you. I don't smell like a human anyways. Your father will recognize my scent."

  "You live in No Man's land, right? Sorcerers are all over there!"

  "I still want to be pampered," Stiles grumbled childishly as he plopped onto the bed.

  "You will be pampered. At the castle. They'll have a feast in your honor, you'll be given a gift for your heroic deeds, and you'll have people do everything for you. Plus there is way more privacy at the castle. We have a little something called locked doors."

  "That would be helpful, but we'll probably have separate rooms. It would be strange if I was always in your room too much. Rumours would spread."

  "If my sister can sleep around without any punishment than I should be able to sleep with one person without punishment."

  "You plan to sleep with me? Don't you think that could be problematic?"

  "Do you not want to sleep with me?"

  "You want me, a peasant boy who is a sorcerer, to have sex with you, a betrothed prince who's father hates sorcerers, at the castle where an entire army ready to kill is sitting there ready for their master to command them?"

  "I suppose that's not a particularly smart idea."

  "It's beyond irrational, and I know irrational."

  "I could pay off the servants," Derek suggested, but Stiles only shook his head. Derek sure wasn't acting like he usually does. It seems that he has a habit not to think things through when it comes to sex. Did Stiles even want sex with him? Well, yes he did, but does he want it so soon? Was it even too soon? How does this stuff work? They can't even kiss without him losing control of his magic.

  "And what will we tell them when everything starts floating? Or have you forgotten that small detail?"

  "Do you not like me?"

  "I think you're rushing. I'm something new, and that makes me enticing," Stiles mumbled as he brought his knees up to his chest and leaned his chin on them.

  "Stiles, that's not it," Derek whispered as he sat next to Stiles on the bed. The wolf gently slid a hand down his cheek and turned Stiles' face towards him. It was comforting, and it was unknown to him why. Almost evertime Derek touched him in almost any intimate way it made his heart flutter. "Yes, you're new and enticing, but you're way more than that. Gold is considered the purest substance on Earth, but all the gold in the world couldn't be equal to the purity in you're heart. You saved my life. You did that knowing I might not value yours enough to keep you safe. You don't give yourself enough credit."

  God, Derek made his stomach flip. He was like one of those stereotype fairy tale princes. He caught himself just as his gaze dropped to his lips. Oh, this man was going to be the death of him, and he totally didn't mind death by a super hot, compassionate prince. 100% ok with dying at the moment. Not, like, dying, dying but that symbolic type of dying. That probably doesn't make sense, but right now a lot doesn't make sense.

  Derek didn't make sense. Why was he so interested in Stiles? Apparently Derek thinks he's humble. They were going to have to leave soon. He could feel it. He could feel the pressure of it all on his shoulders. Something big was coming. As cliché as it sounds, Stiles felt like he did before a storm, but something about it seemed as if the feeling wasn't really associated to the weather.

  "I got a bad feeling, Der," Stiles mumbled as arms tightened around his knees, forcing them closer to his chest, "I don't like it."

  "What do you mean bad feeling?"

  "Oh, I mean rainbows and fucking pixie dust, Derek! What do you think I mean?"

  "What so you think it is?"

  "I would tell you if it wasn't just a feeling of impending doom looming over my shoulder."

  "Maybe you're just nervous," the knight suggested as he pressed his hands onto Stiles' shoulders and began to rub them, "just relax, love. Everything will be fine." 

  Stiles honestly stopped listening when he felt those fingers rubbing circles into his shoulders. Honestly, he had to be the luckiest little shit in this entire kingdom. Not only does the prince wish to sleep with him, but he's also giving him back rubs? This, this was living. He could feel the tension leaving his body. Wait.... Did Derek call him love? As in, like, love, love? Holy shit.

  Holy shit! 

  HOLY SHIT!

  Derek FUCKING Hale just called him love. Oh, God Stiles was done for. He'd be lying if he said he didn't like it. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't bright red. There was no doubt he was blushing at this point. What were they talking about? It was important wasn't it? Something about a storm? Oh, holy hell, who fucking cares at this point? 

  Wait, he should care. Shouldn't he? Crap, he barely started packing. He sighed heavily and was reluctant to shrug off Derek's hands, but he did. He stood up from the bed and started shifting through his bags. "What are you doing?" Derek asked curiously.

  "I'm going to hide my spell books with something called glamour. It's nearly untraceable," Stiles explained as he pulled them out along with a small vile of what most would see as glitter, "this is a mix of a whole bunch of magical creatures that naturally use glamour to conceal themselves. It's kinda like a dust." He sprinkled some of it on the books and they morphed into what looked to be fairytale novels. "This stuff's really expensive though. So, I rarely ever use it."

  "Why do you need your spell book so badly?"

  "To protect you. A witch is trying to kill a bunch of you remember? I'm not going to let her get to you," Stiles explained as he stuffed the books back in his bag. He lifted both of them and headed towards the door. "Come on we're leaving."

  Derek got up from the bed and rushed to cut Stiles off. "Are you sure that dust will work? If you get caught with them-"

  "I'm not going to be keeping them with me at the castle. I'll hide them somewhere easily accessible, but not easily detectable. That's where I'm probably going to need your help."

  "What if they're found?"

  "I'll make it look like they've been there a while."

  "He'll burn them."

  "Norse books don't burn. Well, they burn, but they can't be destroyed by fire."

  "You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

  "When in doubt, deny deny deny," Stiles said with a wink before the door opened behind Derek. His father poked his head in and was about to say something but Stiles stopped him, "We know. It's time to go." Stiles pushed past Derek and headed towards the front door. When he made it outside he was shocked to see Scott saddled up, and ready to go. "Scott?"

  "They want you to feel more comfortable," Scott said grinning.

  "We did not say that," Isaac insisted, "he had his own horse."

  "They felt bad for waking me," Scott tried.

  "From my understanding we did not wake you. We thought an Argent was hiding in that room!" Isaac argued.

  "Oh, yea! I wonder why that is, Stiles?" Scott asked as he tilted his head and stared at the other with an accusatory look.

  "Yea! Totally weird right!" Stiles laughed out awkwardly as Derek walked up behind him, "Derek! You should pick your horse first!"

  "What?" the prince questioned with a raised eyebrow. Shit, why couldn't he just read his goddamn min- oh, wait a minute.  
  'Scott's asking about Allison, what do I say?' he sent hoping that Derek heard him. Would it be considered hearing him though? It's more like thinking of him. Ok, seriously, not the time to get distracted right now. Derek made an O with his mouth and placed his hand up as he nodded reassuringly.

  "Stiles, didn't you mention something about Scott having a girlfriend living here in the village?" Derek questioned. God, he was a shitty improviser and a terrible actor. Good thing his knights were dense.

  "Oh, yea! You should say goodbye to her! I'll help you find her!" Stiles said as he began ushering Scott and his horse away, but one of the knights (Bud? No, Boyd! Yea that's the one) stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. 

  "No time. We must head back at once. We already sent news back of your reappearance. They'll be expecting us," Boyd stated sternly.

  Fuck him. Seriously, everything has just been a steady down pour of nothing going right since the day he met Derek. He couldn't even get a private chat with his best friend! No, instead he was being ushered to a horse and being forced to travel to his death basically. Derek promised to protect him. He wouldn't break his promise.

  Stiles was practically the last one of them to get on his horse. His anxiety was rising the closer they got to the village's border. He wasn't looking forward to this at all. Ok, maybe he was looking forward to the food.  


He gripped on to the reins tightly and practiced taking deep breaths. This was going to be one long journey. As they crossed into the forest Stiles turned back to look at the village gates. This could very well be the last time he sees those gates. He didn't even get to say goodbye to Melissa. He looked forward again. Scott came up beside him and sent him a rassuring smile, but that didn't help. God was he so royaly fucked. In more ways than one.  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to me!!! Ok, I know I took a while to post but I need to be more motivated to bust these chapters out! I really love reading your comments! What do you guys think? Any errors?


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a filler they're just talking in the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Om so this is a lot shorter than other chapters because something is going to haooen but I wanted it to be in Stiles POV

  Derek has been purposely trailing behind Stiles for the past 2 hours. The scent of anxiety whisked through the air around them. They were outside, the scent shouldn't be this strong. He knew Isaac and Boyd could smell it. They kept asking Derek if the boy was ok. He could tell Stiles was purposely taking deep breaths.

  Scott kept trying to get him to relax, but Stiles just continued to tell him he was fine. It worried Derek how good of a lier that boy was. He could lie straight through his teeth to his best friend without batting an eye. He even lied to his father. He couldn't take it anymore. He wished he could read minds like Stiles. He wanted to help, but Isaac and Boyd would find it strange.

  They would think that Derek shouldn't be so worried about him. "Derek, purhaps it wasn't wise to bring him. He really doesn't seem alright. He smells like he's going to be sick," Isaac tried with a worried look. 

  "Nonsense. The boy will live. We have a duty, Isaac. Focus on that," Boyd stated sternly. Derek didn't like the way Boyd was treating Stiles, and it appeared that Isaac didn't either.

  He shot Boyd a look before saying, "Stiles, would you like to take a break?" he turned his head in the boy's direction, "I know you say you're alright, but I believe a break might make you feel better."

  "Postponing the inevitable won't help," Stiles mumbled.

  "I think it's a great idea," Scott said smiling, "we could walk around. You like walking through the woods."

  "I hope you don't take this as an insult, but you smell a bit sick."

  "He smells fine! We shouldn't make the king wait because this peasant isn't feeling well! People like him get sick all the time!" Boyd argued. He was clearly annoyed with the whole situation.

  "My father can wait another moment. If Stiles wants to take a break then I'm alright with it," Derek stated.

  "Come on Stiles. You like walking in the woods," Scott tried.

  "You said that twice now. I guess it would be nice to get off the horse," Stiles trailed off.

  "I can walk with you both," Isaac offered as he got off his horse.

  "Are you afraid we'll run?" Stiles tried joking, but Derek could hear the partial seriousness in the question.

  "Truthfully yes, that is part of the reason, but I also want to make sure you'll be alright to continue. If you get sick it would be unwise to take you to the castle," Isaac explained.

  "I'm not sick. Well, at least not physically," Stiles mumbled.

  There was suddenly a very strong scent of concern in the air. It surprised Derek that it was coming from Isaac. He was fairly certain that the knight disliked the boy, but maybe he was wrong. Derek knew of what Isaac himself had gone through. Maybe Isaac just understood what type of ailment was tormenting the other.

  "Maybe you would rather your father's accompaniment. You're more comfortable around him right? It might help you feel better," Isaac suggested, "we'll wait for him to catch up."

  Stiles paused for a moment. Derek could tell he was confused. The boy looked back to Isaac before facing foreward again. "It's alright if you come with. I wouldn't mind."

  Isaac grinned. He was damn proud of himself, and Derek was proud of him too. He was trying, which wasn't something he was doing before. "Alright," Isaac said as he walked up to Stiles, "Let's tie the horses up then."

  Stiles looked at Isaac strangely for a moment before he started getting off his horse. When Isaac held a hand out to help him down Stiles turned to Derek with a questioning look before hesitantly taking the hand that was offered to him. "Thanks," he said slowly.

  "Would you like to join us my prince?" Isaac asked as he took the reins of Stiles' horse and began walking towards a nearby tree. He tied the two up on a branch.

  "No! We should stick to the trail, Lahey! We cannot let anything else happen to the Prince!" Boyd protested.

  "I think a short walk wouldn't be so bad, Boyd," Derek said calmly before dismounting his horse and tying it up with the other two.

  "I'll wait here with Boyd, so when your dad catches up he doesn't think you're missing," Scott said smiling.

  "What? The whole point was that you come with to make me feel more comfortable!" Stiles whined as he walked up to Scott.

  "Yea, but your dad will automatically assume you and I ran away together," Scott explained with a small smile.

  "Why must you crush my dreams of running off with you into the sunset," Stiles said dramatically and placed the back of his hand to his forehead.

  "And here I thought I'd be able to get rid of the two of you. Claim all the credit for finding the prince while I'm at it," Isaac joked in response. Stiles looked at the other for a moment before letting out a small laugh.

  "Hey! That was funny!" he said smiling, "you should joke around more often! Us peasants like jokes!"

  "Why do you refer to yourself as a peasant?" Isaac questioned curiously.

  "He is a peasant," Boyd responded, "that is how the king will view them. We must respect that."

  Stiles glared at Boyd for a moment before putting on a mocking smile. "Wash your face off once you're done kissing his ass why don't ya'. You're full of shit."

  "Excuse me!" Boyd yelled, obviously offended while Isaac just hissed. 

  "Excuse yourself, Mr. Highhorse," Stiles stated bitterly.

  "Ok! I think we should start walking!" Isaac quickly said as he grabbed Stiles' arm, "come on. You have to save some of your witty one liners right?"

  "Actually, I probably should get them out of my system," Stiles stated as he turned away from Boyd.

  "I don't think you can get sarcasm out of your system. Doesn't it make up like 90% of your body mass?" Scott joked with a small laugh.

  "Your faith in me is so inspiring, Scott," Stiles replied with a raised level of sarcasm.

  "Just go, we can talk shit later," Scott offered, but Stiles rolled his eyes.

  "I talk shit with or without you bro, but at least when it's with you it's not about you," Stiles replied with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You don't talk shit about me. You're too in love with me," Scott joked.

"Whatever gets you to sleep at night, brother of mine," he nearly sang before walking away from Scott.

  "Shall we?" Isaac asked and jestured toward the open woods to their right.

"Yea! I think it's going to be nice to get away from Mr. Stick-up-his-ass over there," Stiles joked. He either didn't notice or didn't care that Boyd was trying to kill him with a single look as he walked off into the woods. Derek and Isaac ofcourse followed him. If Stiles ran into any unsavory people he will need a better defense than sarcasm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know not my greatest update but Stiles' POV should be good. A lot of stuff is supposed to happen. I hope you guys enjoyed it none-the-less! Please comment any errors and I LOVE seeing all the wonderful comments you guys leave for me. It helps inspire me to continue writing!!!!


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their little stroll turns into the fight if Stiles life. He has to protect his friends but does he have that kind of power? Seriously, why do all th women in Derek's life try to kill him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back! I was going through the comments and got inspired again! Hope you enjoy!

Scott was right. Stiles really did start to feel better once they started their walk. The smell of the dew and the sounds of the birds and creatures surrounding him, it put at least some of his nerves at ease. He was still grumpy though. He wanted to go home, this was a bad idea, and Isaac had ulterior motives.

"You already seem to be feeling better," Isaac commented as he followed him.

"Everything this far in is so alive, and quiet," Stiles replied as he placed his hand against a near by tree. He was listening to its whispers. Trees always had a lot to say to him. Honestly, most of it was all over the place, but they did talk.

"I'm sorry?" Isaac questioned with a raised eyebrow. 

"That's a rather strange thing to say," Derek said, but it sounded like a warning to Stiles. 'Stop saying weird crap!'

Stiles could feel his cheeks heat up as he realised how odd he must have sounded. "S-sorry, I mean, I live in No Man's land. It's not as nice!" That id how to dumb down the beauty of the forest in one sentence.

Isaac raised an eyebrow at that. What's with that look though? He has said weirder things, right? No that wasn't the usual 'What garbage is this boy spewing' look people normally give him. It's more like 'really? That's the best lie you can come up with.'

"Wh-what?"

"You're the type to talk to trees." That was a statement. He wasn't asking.

"I don't talk to trees," Stiles grumbled as he took his hand off the bark and tugged down on his sleeve.

"I had a friend once-" 

"That's surprising," Stiles quipped with a small smirk, but, judging by the look Derek gave him, he was the only one amused by his comment. "Sorry. Continue," message recieved. 

Isaac paused for a moment before continuing, "this friend was a bit on the special side, you see. He could do things not generally accepted here."

"Cryptic as fuck my man," Stiles said and crossed his arms. This was annoying. He hated when people told him stories like this, "get to the point."

"You're a witch," Isaac finished, clearly irritated with Stiles.

Derek's eyes blew wide in shock, but Stiles' didn't. He saw this coming. He walked them just out of earshot from Boyd. He was sympathetic when Stiles was getting anxious. He knew what he was. "Isaac listen to me-" Derek started but Isaac stopped him.

"Sorry to interupt you my Prince, but I am not here to kill him. With all do respect, you're a fucking idiot? Forgive me, but you don't know the scent that accompanies magic. He probably smells slightly off to you, but to me and your father it is a very prominent and distinct scent. He will know the second he enters the city what he is. This boy reeks of magic!"

"How dare you-" 

"Please, Derek. I've called you way worse. What do you suggest we do to prevent the king from figuring it out?" Stiles asked as he crossed his arms, "if I use magic to disrupt his sense of smell it would be a dead give away. I can't do a spell with that kind of precision."

"You stopped Kate." 

"Derek, I fucked with the entirety of her hearing. Everything she heard was off. I'm not good at targeting the senses."

"You're good with potions."

"He would need to swallow it or smell it. Both involve getting close enough for him to sniff me out. You guys have way too much faith in me."

"I'll give it to him," Isaac offered, "I'm friends with the cook. He can mix it in."

"Are we seriously discussing cursing the king? Your father, Derek!"

"Only temporarily," Isaac said with a shrug.

How are they so nonchalant! This could get all three of them burned! Well, maybe not Derek. Jail time for the precious Prince of Wulfhli. "You're all crazy!"

"Do you want to be caught?" Isaac asked. Fuck him and his stupid scarf.

"If you get caught I will not hesitate to throw you under the stables!" Stiles yelled before pausing. He straightened out and looked in the direction they came in. "We should discuss this later."

Isaac looked to, probably curious as to what grabbed Stiles' attention. "Is something wrong?"

"We're no longer out of earshot," Stiles whispered and half hid behind Derek. He didn't like Boyd, but there was something else wrong too. Of course there's something else, because a druid just can't catch a break, right? Even the trees rustled nervously. He placed his hand on one and listened to it's scattered train of thought. Damn trees were worse than him. "We need to go. Something's wrong."

"What's wrong? What is it?" Derek asked as the young witch gripped his arm, but Stiles only got a few words.

'The witch, death. Alpha,' it all seemed very familiar to him. Almost like he was reliving a drea- "Day Da who!"

"What?" Isaac questioned with confusion clear on his face.

"Dejavu?" Derek asked as he turned to Stiles.

"Was that not exactly what I said?"

"No, Stiles. It really wasn't," Derek responded as he shook his head.

"We can't be out here. She's coming." 

"What? Who's coming? Your Highness what is he talking about?"

"Does it matter! Every she we've talked about so far is out to kill, Derek!" Stiles insisted, "we need to go."

"Unhand the Prince!" Of-fucking-course Boyd shows up.

"Relax he's not hurting anyone," Scott said as he came up behind Boyd, because it wouldn't be a party without Scott right,"hey, are you alright?"

Bad. This is very bad. They need to get out of here. The trees were getting louder and his grip on Derek grew tighter. " We need to go, Derek!"

Too late. Her power was overwhelming. He found it hard to breathe. Derek perked up a bit at this point. His nose flared as he caught a wiff of the woman coming to them, and he quickly turned towards the direction the scent was coming from. "What is that?" he asked in a wary tone.

"She's not over there," Stiles mumbled. She was using a spell to distract them, and everyone was looking away. She was playing with them. She didn't look mangled like in his vision.

"Nullis sensibus auctae," she said with a smirk but soon it fell when she saw it wasn't affecting Stiles. She raised her hand towards him, and so help him God nothing has every been so scary in his life.

Stiles quickly reacted to that. He raised his hand towards her and yelled,"Lage brann regn!" Fire. He was good with fire spells! The ground in front of her lit up and gave her quite the shock. Wait. Did she not know what he was? She looked at him with shock and betrayal in her eyes. She was straight up about to cast a curse on him, and she's feeling betrayed? Rude. 

Oh shit. Did Boyd see that? No their senses are all messed up. Oh, that reminds him, "vet hvor du er!" he said as he rose his hand, but before he could fully extend his arm he was struck. Had to be a spell. One of those offensive ones, because it burned like hell. He reached up quickly and grabbed his shoulder with what he would prefer to call a grunt. Probably more of a scream if he's honest.

"Stiles!" Scott saw him first. Good to know he broke the goddamn spell. He'll pat himself on the back when he can feel his right arm again. "you're bleeding!"

That, right there, that caught Derek's attention in a heartbeat, and he almost instantly tried shifting. honestly, he found it fucking amazing that the king's son was so highly over protective of him. Oh Wait, no that's dangerous right now. "rigescunt indutae!" Oh no that didn't sound good. Everyone froze in place, well, everyone except him. Why weren't the spells working on him?

"You're one of us! Why are you helping him?"

Is she seriously asking that? "You just hit me with a ball of fire lady."

"You were interfering!" she yelled stepping towards him. Shit, no she needs to stay away from him, "it was lightning, and a curse."

"Even better!" he responded through gritted teeth. Did she say curse?

"I wouldn't move around so much with it in your shoulder," she kept getting closer. No, he wanted her to back off.

"hold deg-" as he was saying the spell he almost instantly felt a horrid pain spread into his shoulder. The moment he tried to use his magic the pain began. His knees hit the ground as he squeezed his shoulder, but that made it hurt even worse.

"That curse will prevent you from using any magic my dear little mage," his eyes were skewed shut but he could practically feel her grinning. This wasn't good. He can't protect anyone. She's going to kill them all. He can't breathe again. This isn't the time or place. "Do you know what his family did to people like us?"

"I-I am aware of what his father did to people like us," he emphasized. He isn't going to let her near any of them.... maybe Boyd. He just needed to get this damn curse out of himself. He should have been more focused on the fact the woman was standing right in front of him.

"I don't think you are," she said as she crouched down to his level, "da fortitudinem," she whispered as she wrapped her hand around his throat. Her grip was way worse than Derek's. She dug her nails into his neck and holy shit did that hurt. It almost hurt as bad as his shoulder if the pain there wasn't getting worse. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't speak, and, even if he could, the curse made it near impossible to use his magic. He struggled desperately against her grip, bringing his left hand up as he tried with all his might to pull her off. "Would you like to see how they treat people like us?"

Does she expect a fucking answer! She is straight choking him to death, and she wants him to verbally respond to her bullshit question? "Why didn't my magic work on you hmm?" she asked curiously as she tilted her head and gave him a once over. She reached up and squeezed his injured shoulder almost as tightly as she did around his neck. 

He has never felt this much pain in his life. Even when he had the visions of his mother burning. This was a whole new level. He could feel tears flowing down along his cheeks. "I could take this magic you know," she started. He would be screaming if he could, "but sadly, Latin born magic doesn't mix well with Norse."

Those dark flowers began to bloom in the corner of his eyes again. It hurt so much. He almost wished she'd just fucking kill him. What's the point of this torture. He was really going to give up, but then the witch pushed him back and let him go. He coughed and gasped for air on the ground as he rolled onto his left side. He needed to get up, or maybe he should just stay down. "Such wasted potential," she spat with disappointment clear in her voice as she reached down and squeezed his cheeks. Her thumb nail threatening to break skin, "consider this a warning. I would hate to kill one of my own, but if you get in my way again," she trailed off and tighten her grip before continuing through gritted teeth, "I won't hesitate." 

She placed her hand against his shoulder and moved the one on his cheeks to one side to cup his face and keep it off the ground. This time she was gentle and careful. "Relevo ac sana," she said softly, almost like she actually cared, "I am not the enemy."

"Oh yea, totally got the 'let's be friends' vibe while you were choking me out," Stiles replied as he glared, but he didn't sound like himself. His voice was raspy and rough, like someone rubbed sand paper down his throat. It hurt to speak.

That wretch looked way too amused by his sarcasm. That grin scared him. "The Norse people are always so spirited," she said as she stood up, "I could teach you so much you know. You should reconsider the side you're on." 

She turned away from him and began walking away, but she forgot something. "Unfreeze them," he demanded which caused her to pause.

She erupted in a fit of laughter which caused Stiles to flinch. "Release them yourself!"

"Please."

She stopped laughing when she heard that. He hated begging but he really couldn't do it. This was a higher level of magic than what he used. He couldn't do it. "You know what you need to say. Just say it," she said. He didn't understand that, or, wait, did He? Where did she go? Crap. He rolled onto his back and winced when pain spiked in his shoulder. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep and shakey breath. 

Great. Fucking great. How is it that he was the only one she wasn't targeting and yet the only one that got his ass handed to him. He doesn't even know how to free everyone. It's not like there's a 'release' spe-. There is a release spell. He thinks she used it on him, but what was it? "Revelvo at Sana!" he tried, but of course, nothing happened, "dammit!" He can't speak Latin for shit.

She said he knew what to say. Bullshit. This is the one time he has no idea what to say. He just wants to release them. He raised his left arm lazily before shouting, "Utgivelse!" 

"STILES," th second he heard Scott yelled he shot up onto his elbows in shock. Well mostly his left elbow. Did he do that. Scott got to him fast. Before he could blink his best friend was crouched in front of him and pulling him into a hug that made him wince again. A little too tight. "Oh god are you Alright? I'm so sorry! I-I couldn't move! Oh god your shoulder, I'm so sorry!" he yelled before releasing him and inspecting his wounds. "This looks bad Stiles."

"Yea didn't feel that great either."

"Can you walk?" Isaac asked. He didn't seem too concerned with his condition, but honestly he is probably just worried she'll come back.

"Ye-yea. I don't think she did anythin to my legs," Stiles tried to joke, but no one was laughing. Scott looked really worried, and Isaac wasn't making eye contact. He must really look and sound bad.

"I'll help you up," Derek offered. He was oddly emotionless. Did that witch curse him twice? Was that possible? He offered his hand to Stile, which of course he gladly took. The prince was very careful with him as he stood. 

"He-he's the enemy! How can you help him!" Boyd yelled but quickly silenced himself when Derek shot him a glare.

"We need to get you out of here. She could come back," Derek stated.

"Wait! He can't go on a horse! Look at him! Can you move your arm at all?" Scott asked as he stood up. 

"I'm fine. Just a little banged up!" He was lying. Even with the release spell the witch used on him his arm was still killing him. It pulsed with pain even with the slightest movements. This trip was going to suck even more now.

"Liar, I can smell the pain you're in," Isaac countered. He was clearly upset by this. It was almost better when the knight didn't care for him at all.

"He can ride with me until we reach safety. I can take his pain," Derek offered, but Stiles didn't want that. He didn't want Derek to feel what he's feeling.

"You would do that for his kind!" Oh my God if Boyd didn't shut the fuck up.

"Give it a rest! He saved all of our live just now! This is the second time he has saved our Prince, are you really going to sit there and belittle him!" Stiles takes it back. He fucking loves Isaac on his side. 

"Stop guys, stop! He needs to see a doctor! Taking away his pain is temporary. The wound could still get infected. There could be damage to his throat," Scott insisted. 

"Oh shit," Stiles mumbled. Someone else was coming towards them. He couldn't focus enough to see who it was. Just what he needed. Another attack.

"What? What's wrong?" Derek asked before hearing rustling in the wood from the direction they came from. 

Scratch that. He would much rather someone try to kill him again. This was the worst. "Why are you all so far from the horse-" his father cut himself off when he saw Stiles. His eyes blew wide and he almost ran to his side. Man heads were gonna roll. "What the fuck happened here! You said you were going to protect him, not haze him! Is that a hand print! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Stiles said almost shyly. He didn't like everyone coddling him like this. He didn't like when people worried this much. He was fine, but if they continue to stay here he might just lose it. "Can we go please."

"There should be a village nearby. We'll go there, alright?" his father offered.

"It's to early to stop now!" Boyd insisted, "we won't make it to or destination in time!"

"Then we'll send a message back explaining that we ran into some trouble. We'll be vague enough so that you won't get in trouble Stiles," Isaac offered. 

"Come on let's make it back to our horses. We could head there now," Scott said as he began guiding Stiles back to the horses. He hated this. He should have demanded Melissa's company. She wouldn't have coddled him so much. She would fix the problem. He hated this, but the idea of an actual bed sounded much better than setting up camp on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you all think? Don't worry Stiles will get better. The plan for this is that the witch is Stiles' obstacle to over Come, and Kate is Derek's. Although, Derek is pretty pissed off that she did such things to his Stiles.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek hates that Stiles is hurt because of him. He needs to stop pretending he's alright, because he clearly isn't!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Derek's POV

Derek hated this. He hated that every breath Stiles took sounded pained. He hated watching the boy wince, hated the scent of his blood. He's hurt and it's all his fault. He could still see the bruises stretching across his neck. He could have died, and it would have been his fault.

"I can literally feel you staring, Derek. I told you guys. I'm fine," Stiles insisted, with a voice that sounded rough and coarse. Every time he said ge was fine his heart skipped. He was lying. He hated when he lied. 

"You're seeing a doctor Stiles. You can say you're fine all you want, but you. Are. Seeing. One," his father countered. He was pretty pissed with all of them. They got a real earful when they started heading for the nearest town. Of course no one had interrupted. His son looked terrible. They all knew it. 

"We're almost there," Isaac said. He was obviously uncomfortable, "does your throat feel better? Your voice still sounds odd."

"I swear to god if the doctor guy says I'm fine," Stiles trailed off. He was getting more annoyed with them by the minute. He looked exaughsted though. It was quite evident. 

"I see the village!" Scott pointed out as they came upon the bridge leading to the said town.

"We'll go to the inn first. The inn keeper would know the physician," Derek said. He should put on some sort of disguise. If words gets out he's here they could be targeted. "Isaac, pass me your cloak. I don't want to be recognized."

"It would be better if none of your were seen. Not a lot of villagers like the royal anything. Especially here on the outskirts," Stiles explained as he rummaged through his bag, "just use mine."

"I don't remember you packing one," Scott said with a raised eyebrow, "and you look like literal death. Pretty sure you would scare the villagers." 

"Magic. It was witch craft," Stiles said sarcastically. At least he was still in a joking mood, "if I can be the scary one for one night then I would consider this a successful trip."

"Well Boyd, looks like we better apprehend the criminal," Isaac joked as he pulled out his cloak.

" Is that why you wear a scarf? So you can tie up criminals?" Scott asked in a joking manor.

"Kinky," Stiles added with a small smirk as he handed Derek his cloak. Scott started laughing at that. Although Stiles' father did not look as amused. "Oh shi- I mean shoot, dad sorry. I forgot you were here!"

"How do you even know what that means? You're a hermit Stiles," his father stated.

Stiles shrugged, but Derek saw that quick glance and grin towards Scott. "He's how old? 18? He could have heard it anywhere," Derek commented. 

"He lives in No Man's Land too right? That can't be a good environment," Isaac chimes in. 

"Are we all just going to ignore that he's an actual fugitive?" Boyd asked clearly annoyed. 

Stiles like grin dropped and was replaced with a grimace. "Buzz kill," he grumbled, "and fugitive implies that I'm on the run. I'm not on the run."

Scott sent Stiles a look, but he just rolled his eyes and pouted. "Ever question why he's considered a fugitive?"

"His kind have killed ma-"

"Excuse Me? My kind?" Stiles snapped. 

"As in not him. Stiles had nothing to do with that shit. He was, what like, 10 when the law was passed. He could barely use any magic. That's like hunting all werewolves because one werewolf killed someone. It's ridiculous paranoia," Scott explained as he trotted ahead, "besides! He does the job of protecting the prince better than you!" Stiles grinned victoriously at that and quickly followed after him.

"No need to start a fight! We should get to an inn quickly. We have to make sure none of your wounds have permanent damage," Isaac insisted. It was more directed towards Boyd. Usually Boyd was the level headed one, but lately Isaac has been taking the cake.

It didn't take them long to find the inn. It was the biggest building in town, but that wasn't saying much. Derek was seriously unsure if it would have enough rooms, or if it even had rooms at all. Scott helped Stiles off his horse and he leaned on him for support. He was attempting to be discreet about it, but he looked pretty bad. Blood was all over his burnt up shirt, and he had bruising all along his neck. He looked like he was about ready to keel over.

"Stiles, are you feeling alright?" his father asked with concern spread across his features. 

"Dad, I'm fine. Really! Just a little wiped," Stiles insisted as he worked in a small smile. The way he looked said he was dying, but the way he spoke made it sound like he was fine. He was too good at lying. Derek almost missed the skip in his heart beat that time. He probably would have if he wasn't waiting for one. 

"We'll get you a room, and you can get some rest before the physician comes," Derek assured.

He flashed a weak smile his way as they walked into the inn. "Thanks Der," he mumbled. Derek assumed he must really be out of it to call him that in front of everyone. He was hoping the druid boy wasn't suffering too much. Could the spell or curse that woman used on him still be in effect? Maybe he was in too much pain to successfully pass off as fine like he has done before. 

Derek just wanted to help. The boy wouldn't let him take his pain, which made him question how much pain he was really in. Was he really in so much pain that he wouldn't let Derek take any of it. Was he hiding his pain more successfully than he thought.   
They managed to get into the inn. The tavern bellow the inn was rather empty. He was thankful for that. Less people asking too many questions. He went straight for the man behind the table near the stairs to the second floor. "Are you the inn keeper?"

"That'd be me! What can do ya for?"

"We need some rooms," Isaac said smiling at the man. He was trying to be charming. 

There was a pause. The man wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying. Instead he was looking at Stiles. He even looked concerned. "Ya alright there lad? Ya look as if you got a little mangled there."

"Actually if you have a physician in town that would be a great help," Scott added in. He was half holding his friend up, "a room would be a great place to let him rest?"

"I don't just give out rooms. Ya gotta be staying the night, and I only got 2 rooms available."

"We'll take them," Derek demanded before dropping a small pouch on the table, "just show us to them."

"Oh, y-yes sir right this way!" he said before leading them up the stairs. There were only really 6 rooms on the floor, Derek assumed at least two of the rooms belonged to the keeper and his family. The bigger man stopped at one door and unlocked it swiftly before opening it for them. He quickly pulled the blanket back as Scott brought Stiles to the bed. "I'll have someone fetch the doctor. I just hope he's still in town. If not it might be a while. Come, I'll show you the other room."

"I'll stay with Stiles," Scott offered as he helped lay Stiles down. The mage tried to hide the wince as he went down. "Sorry," his friend whispered to him.

"I'll stay as well," said his father, but Boyd shook his head at that. 

"No, I don't trust you three alone together. One of you stays with us."

"He's my son!"

"I'll stay. It's my fault he's here," Derek said as Stiles sent him a small smile. He knew he would like that. He probably would prefer his father and friend if he had to choose though.

"No! You should be in the company of your guards!" Boyd insisted. He was starting to annoy Derek. 

"Sir, I hate to go against your wishes, but he is right. I'll stay in this room with them. If anything happens I will get you. I promise you," Isaac explained, "you have my word "

Derek paused for a moment and thought that over. Isaac knows he uses magic, but he doesn't know about the visions. What if Stiles has one? What if it's as bad as it was back at the house? Scott would be there. He could calm him down. Stiles' father didn't look too happy with that though. He looked pissed as all hell.

"If it's all planned out, I do have a tavern to run. The room is the last one on the left. Here's the key," the inn keeper stated as he placed the key into Derek's hand, "You're free to come down for food and drink anytime ya want!" 

After his quick departure Stiles huffed in annoyance. "All great and dandy you all want to fight over me, but if this doctor says I'm fine I swear," Stiles slurred as he rolled his eyes.

"Honestly Stiles, you look like death itself. Literal death. I'm not even exaggerating. Death, Stiles. You sound like shit too. No way in god's green earth you're fine, " Scott rambled, "so shut up and close your eyes. The world won't end if you get an hour or two of sleep."

"If the world ends I'm blaming you," Stiles as he rolled onto his left side. 

Eventually, when it was confirmed that Stiles had definitely fallen asleep, and they were assured he wouldn't be making the great escape, Boyd, Derek, and the boy's father left the room. They quietly made it into their own before pausing for a moment. "There are only two beds," Noah stated, "one of us will have to sleep on the floor and I doubt it will be the Prince."

"I wouldn't mind it. Can't be much worse than your son's bed," Derek joked, but then realised how terrible that sounded out of context, "I had to rest in it when we first met and he was treating my wounds!"

"What else would you be doing in my son's bed?"

Fuck, was the one thought that kept going through his mind, but he managed to keep a straight face. No emotion to show. Why should he be afraid? He's the Prince! A Prince who is romantically involved with the mage whose father is standing right in front of him. The man's eyes scanned over him. He was waiting patiently for a response. "I wouldn't know." Nice save. 

"I will not allow you to subject yourself to such pour sleeping conditions," Boyd insisted. 

"Good thing my decisions aren't up to you." Boyd didn't like that response. He seemed a bit dejected as he took a step back towards the bed.

"Thank you for allowing us the beds, " Noah said with a small bow.

It got quiet after that. They all took to there own areas and waited. Boyd sharpened his sword, Noah paced around near his bed, and Derek just stared at the door as ge sat next to Boyd on his bed. Derek could hear all their heart beats, but he was really only focused on one. Stiles' heart was steady. There were no spikes of panic or shock. Nothing to signify he had woken back up, and nothing showing he was under any distress. It was a relief. 

Derek let his eyes slide shut as he just listened. Thump. Thump. Thump. He was happy the boy wasn't having any nightmares or visions, but it also worried him. Was something wrong? Did that witch do something they couldn't detect? He heard her say release and heal in Latin, but she could have meant something else by it. He was worried, scared even. He missed how nice and easy it was back in the cabin. 

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs. There were two sets. One he recognized as the inn keepers, or at least he thought they belonged to him. They were heavy and followed by small and slower ones. He stood and made his way to the door to crack it open to peek outside. There was a man with a bag of sorts in his right hand, heading into Stiles' room.

"The doctor, " Derek whispered, "he just went into the room."

"What?" Noah questioned as he shot up and rushed out the door. Derek looked back at Boyd with a solemn expression. He didn't know if he should go into Stiles' room. He was certain the boy's father didn't know of their relationship. He turned his head back out towards the hall again. 

"You're not going to check on your pet witch?" Boyd grunted out. 

"Insult him again, Boyd and I'll have you demoted," Derek warned. He was getting fed up with his behavior. He shut his eyes and listened to the conversation. Stiles' heart beat spiked slightly, signifying his waking. Derek just wanted to listen. He didn't want to disturb. He just wanted to hear what wad happening.   
Thump.   
Thump.   
Thump.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think about the big 2-0???? I'll probably do more Stiles' POV since I like writing as him most of all. This was more of a filler anyways. Next chapter will be a bit juicier. Hope you all enjoy!!! Comments mean the world to me!

**Author's Note:**

> Yes this is heavily based on Merlin because the idea is great writing material if you ask me! I hope you all liked it! If there are any errors TELL ME PLEASE. Tell me what you think so far though!!


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